Drunk Antics
by ChasingJudai
Summary: Musicboxshipping(Sora x Yuzu) Because when she was drunk, she was either far too giddy or far too moody. And when he was drunk, he was just..too much to even describe! Chapter 1(Yuzu's Drunkness) Chapter 2(Sora's Drunkness)
1. Chapter 1

The sight of a giddy Yuzu with a slight blush on her face, waving and calling, "Hi Sora!", wasn't quite what he was expecting after only one glass of alcohol. Was this her first time? Well no, but it still surprised him. It's just one glass! As for the question of when did she first drink alcohol, Sora will get to that later but for now he has to wonder why she was even drunk now.

"I told her not to!," Sora grumbles inwardly before directing his attention to the bartender, who was currently cleaning the rest of the glass cups all of the customers had downed. Sora was only at the bar because he heard you could fight tough duelists there, and the slight curiosity of what alcohol tasted like was just a bonus.

Yuzu insisted she would come and cheer him on, and even if he kept warning her with the reminder of the last time she went to bar, she would still persist in going with him. He knew Yuzu could get drunk easily...but he still couldn't believe it when it actually happened.

Sora had specifically told her, "Don't drink any type of alcohol while I scout for duelists," and Yuzu had simply smiled and nodded.

"Did my friend ask for alcohol?," Sora asked the bartender, who continued to clean the glass cups even more fervently.

"Yes indeed," the bartender answered.

"I told her if no alcohol was bought, customers were kicked out."

"Why would she do that!?," Sora asked.

He really did not want to see her drunk.

"That's odd. Yuzu doesn't really like alcohol. She could of just bought it and left it for me," Sora said out loud.

The bartender merely shrugged and said, "I guess the lady really wanted to try alcohol."

Sora's eyes twitched at this, and all he thought was, "Yuzu is not the kind who likes alcohol. She also could of just bought it and left it only for me, since she knows I like it. Was something bothering her?"

Sora slapped a hand against his forehead and groaned. He did not want this to be like the first time she had alcohol. It was kind of his fault as he pressured her into doing so but he learned his lesson after that.

Her first time had happened because of simply wanting to talk with Yugo and she was curious as to why he had walked inside a bar. Sora had offered to walk with her. In truth, Yugo could be a pretty fun person to talk to, as long as you didn't mess up his name, or questioned it. Even if Sora shouldn't, he hadn't at all regretted questioning Yugo's name. He still remembered how the conversation between him and Yugo had gone.

"Yu..go?," Sora had repeated only to laugh. "What kind of name is that!? Yu..go? You go where?"

Yuzu was about to chide Sora not to continue any further but Yugo had only knocked Sora on the head while screaming, "My name is Yugo so respect it!"

Sora only snickered while clutching his head from Yugo's fierce fist, saying, "I like Yugo, Yuzu! He's funny! Especially with his name!"

"I like him too but..," Yuzu began before thinking, "You really should take Yugo's name more seriously. Everyone messes up and now you made him more angry with what you said about it."

Despite this, Yugo did get along pretty well with Sora, as long as Sora didn't bring up any mean comments about his name.

Sora had more errands to run lately so Yuzu had been spending a lot of her time with Yugo. She just wanted to thank Yugo for spending time with her in a duel but she had somehow gotten roped into Yugo's drunk enthusiastic antics. How the interaction had played still was engraven in Sora's mind.

"Yuuuuzu!? Great to see you!," Yugo slurred, holding up a mug of fizzing whiskey.

"Ah, yeah..you too?," Yuzu had said, unsure of what Yugo had seen in the atmosphere of the bar. To Yuzu it was loud and people were dancing around oddly, while others wore..strange expressions to her.

"I just wanted to say thank you for spending time with me and ask why you're in.."

"You want a drink, Yuzu!?," Yugo had cheerfully asked, shoving another mug of whiskey in front of her face and Yuzu backed away from it.

"Uh no..," Yuzu had answered, but Yugo had only slung an arm around Yuzu's neck before whining, "Come on. It'll taste real good."

Yuzu then hit him with her fan and yelled, "What would Rin think of this!?"

"It'll be fine if she doesn't find out!," Yugo casually reasoned, rubbing his head from where she hit it, before saying, "Now, try some!"

The whole scenario had seemed amusing to Sora so he interrupted with, "I'll try some, Yugo."

"Sora!," Yuzu shouted and Yugo only snickered.

"Finally got my name right," Yugo said, before calling to the bartender for more whiskey. "I guess you deserve some then, Sora."

"Normally I would argue, but if I get to have a drink, I'm all for it," Sora replied, moving up to sit on a stool next to Yugo.

"None of you should be drinking!," Yuzu shouted, and Sora only said, "Bartender, I want a cocktail umbrella in my drink. My friend probably wants a cocktail umbrella in hers. It's just nice to look at. I think if you put in Yugo's drink he'll somehow wreck it. Also.."

"ENOUGH!," Yuzu screamed, causing Sora to put his hands up to his ears. "I DON'T CARE WHETHER IT HAS A COCKTAIL UMBRELLA OR NOT! WE SHOULDN'T BE DRINKING AT ALL!"

"Oh, come on Yuzu," Sora pleaded, with a smile. "Just one drink. You know you want to."

Before Yuzu could say another word, the door had slammed open to reveal a very mad Rin.

"YUGO!," Rin screamed, before dragging Yugo off by the ear, complaining, "I thought I told you to stop drinking because it's bad for you," despite his constant protests.

Yuzu breathed out a sigh she had been holding in, before turning around to see Sora drinking a glass.

"Sora!," Yuzu hollered, and Sora only stared at her.

"At least try some Yuzu," Sora requested. "Just one glass."

Yuzu sat down next to him, huffing. "Fine, Yuzu," Sora said before standing up and placing his arms behind his head. "I have to go to the restroom so wait for me and then we can hang out."

In that one trip to the restroom however, Yuzu had downed down a cup, growing a slightly flustered expression that Sora wasn't expecting to see when he got out.

"Sora!," Yuzu called, blushing slightly before giving a bubbly laugh.

"You were right! This is amaazzing!"

Now, she was slurring her words.

Sora did suggest drinking..but not getting drunk. Sora only drunk a little, and never enough to get him drunk. He needed a clear mind. He just liked the taste of it.

That's why for Yuzu he suggested only one glass. He figured if it was her first time, one glass would be enough and not overdoing it, right?

"How much did you have while I was gone?," Sora asked, and Yuzu tapped her finger on her chin to think, which Sora couldn't deny looked cute, but he needed the answer right away.

"Just one glass!," Yuzu chirped and Sora nearly fell over from shock.

"You had one glass and you're already drunk!?," Sora asked, and Yuzu only slurred her words saying, "I'mm not reallly druuunnk."

Yuzu was then laughing uncontrollably and Sora wondered what he had gotten himself into. "You reap what you sow," Sora thought.

"Well..I think I'll take you to your dad's home," Sora said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Give me a piggy back ride!," Yuzu demanded happily, and Sora stuttered, "W-What?"

Yuzu then looked down with a sad expression before asking, "Did I demand too much? I only wanted a piggy back ride."

Sora stopped at the sad expression before huffing and kneeling down, with his back turned to her.

"Fine. Get on."

"YAY!"

When he hoisted himself up with her attached to his back, she then wrapped her arms around Sora's neck, snuggling into the side of his head.

"Y-Yuzu," Sora stammered, blushing, but Yuzu only pointed a finger straight as she screamed, "Full speed ahead, master!"

Sora walked ahead, grudgingly, and Yuzu kept waving at people passing by. She eventually lost grip around Sora's neck and fell hard on the ground.

"Yuzu!," Sora called worriedly before sighing and hardening his glare at her, as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Keep a tight grip on me."

Yuzu sat up, sorrowfully looking down before saying, "I just wanted to wave to others."

Sora wasn't expecting that. He expected her to yell back, "It was a mistake. I won't do it again." She was very..moody when she was drunk and giddy. Yuzu was usually happy but this was a bit more than usual.

"It's uh..fine," Sora responded sheepishly. "Just don't do it again."

Once Yuzu was back on his back, she was back to snuggling into the side of his head, while humming, "My master is the greatest!"

Sora snickered before walking ahead. Even if this was slightly different, Sora didn't mind all that much.

"Oh, my dad isn't at home though," Yuzu said, which made Sora scream, "WHAT!?"

"He said he wouldn't be there because he had an errand of picking up even more cards for You Show Duel!," Yuzu explained. "My dad is always working so hard! I think for once I'll say his catchphrase! But only once! Hot-blooded!"

"Uh, when will he be back then?," Sora asked, and Yuzu only said, "Hmm."

"Two days from now!"

"Did he leave you keys?"

"Yep!"

"Where are they?"

"In my pocket!"

Sora let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Good."

The rest of that night had been spent with Yuzu singing some song she claimed that inspired her to want to be a singer very loudly. It was hard to put her to sleep because she said she had more songs to tell Sora and Sora had only told her, "Later."

That was the first time but now..it was the second time. Sora didn't understand why Yuzu would drink alcohol because he had told Yuzu how she acted when she was drunk, which made her feel very embarrassed and vow to never drink alcohol again.

"Yuzu, it's time to go home," Sora firmly said "Your dad isn't running errands again, is he?"

"He is and I'm so proud of him!," Yuzu chirped, but Sora was only worried for what could happen.

"Sora..," Yuzu said in a sing-song voice and Sora flicked his eyes over to her to see her placing two straws in one cup.

"Come and drink some with me!"

"Y-Yuzu, I'm not having any and I'm not having it from the same cup you drank from," Sora stammered and Yuzu whined, "Aww, but it has the same cocktail umbrella we both like."

"Well..if we have to leave, we have to leave.."

"Bartender!"

The bartender looked over at Yuzu and Yuzu blew a kiss towards him, surprising Sora and the bartender.

"Thank you for the drink!"

"Alright, you're really going home, Yuzu!," Sora yelled, dragging her off by the hand, a bit jealous of what she had done with the bartender.

"That bartender is so nice," Yuzu said, and Sora muttered angrily, "I bet he is."

"But so are you, Sora!," Yuzu yelled happily. "You always escort me home!"

"I do," Sora said before thinking, "But you never did something like that with me like you did with the bartender."

"Sora, was that good?," Yuzu asked.

"Was what good?," Sora asked back, still fuming a bit over what she just did.

"The blowing of a kiss!," Yuzu shouted, before laughing again. "I'm practicing! I mean, whenever a singer is done with their work, sometimes they just have a little gesture they do while thanking the audience. I think that would pull them in! Was it good, Sora?"

"..."

"Sora?"

"..."

"Uh..Sora?"

"...Yes."

"Really? I'm happy!"

"And home."

"And..home? That quickly!?"

Sora had gently placed Yuzu down on the bed.

"I think I have a headache," Yuzu groaned, and Sora took off her blue hair clips, thinking it could relieve some of her pain.

Sora then sat down on a chair next to a desk, mentally composing himself.

"Get some sleep," Sora said, and it was quiet for a moment, which made him relax.

He then began to sort out a new deck of cards he had and analyze all the cards. His hand reached out for one before being startled by hands wrapped around his neck and a "Oooh, what's that!?"

"Yuzu, go to sleep!," Sora yelled, which made Yuzu pout. "Not unless you join me!," Yuzu chirped and this made Sora go beet red from his neck to his face.

"Fine, but only if you go to sleep!," Sora yelled.

Yuzu laid down first and Sora joined her.

Yuzu then grabbed his hand and whispered, "Not like that."

Sora raised his eyebrow before she explained, "I meant..on top of me."

"...WHAT!?," Sora yelled, his face redder, but Yuzu didn't waver. "Only this one time," Yuzu begged. "I really need it."

Sora hesitated, before shifting himself onto her, his head on the crook of her neck.

Yuzu laughed before saying, "This is going to be an odd request but...move your head...lower, like...on my chest."

Sora blushed even harder, saying, "I...can't."

Yuzu didn't want to say it, but she had to. "Sora, I can't go to sleep unless we're both comfortable and that's exactly what you want, isn't it?"

Sora sighed, still blushing, before giving into her request and lowering his head onto her chest, listening to her heartbeats. Her heartbeats were racing and so was her body temperature.

"Um..Sora?," Yuzu asked. "Actually..let me...sleep on top of you."

Sora really wasn't sure why Yuzu was making all of these requests but he needed her to go to sleep so...

He shifted himself off and then she rolled on top of him.

Yuzu then got closer to his ear, smirking, and whispering, "Payback."

"W-What?," Sora stammered, and Yuzu sat up, straddling his hips, before saying, "I needed to know what exactly it was I felt around you. My heart races abnormally and I feel slightly charmed and then angry that you always make statements that fluster me so I, out of my anger, drank that cup of alcohol and I figured I'd get back at you and fluster you but I don't know why and.."

"Slow down," Sora chuckled. "This is a very interesting way to confess your love, Yuzu," Sora thinks but he keeps that to himself.

"What were my heartbeats like when you were on my chest!?," Yuzu asked, lowering her face to him, and Sora blushes at how close she is.

"Uh...," Sora utters, struggling to find words.

Her blue eyes are really close and looking at them, and this is not helping with Sora's daily desire to fight kissing Yuzu on the lips. She's practically so close to him and it's almost like she is inviting him! Not to mention her hair is down, and Sora has to resist the urge to run his hand through it, and then...no. He needs to stop having those thoughts.

"Er.."

"Sora, answer me!," Yuzu yelled.

"R-racing?," Sora stutters and Yuzu smiles, saying, "Aha! I knew I wasn't hallucinating! But..I still don't know why I feel this way."

Sora only smiles, glad that his feelings are reciprocated, even if Yuzu was still figuring out what it was she felt.

"Maybe you'll know one day," Sora said. "Think of it as an adventure!"

"An adventure? I like the sound of that but..there are still things that I've been wanting to do with you and want to try," Yuzu said, moving her hands to his hair before he stops her with his hands.

"You can figure that out later because I'd rather do this with you when you're sane and not drunk," Sora says, and Yuzu smiles before plopping down on him.

"I am sane," Yuzu argues but Sora only gives a skeptical "Sure."

"If I wasn't sane, I wouldn't be taalking noormally," Yuzu countered but Sora only said, "You slurred again."

"Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"The headache I had before is worsening."

"Because you didn't sleep."

"Sora?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Yuzu."

Author's Note: I am doing a second chapter on this for when Sora gets drunk. I honestly don't even know why I wrote this. I thought it would be humorous if you just saw what Yuzu and Sora were like with alcohol. Oh, and it's sortive a break before I continue the Hearts of A Student and Teacher fanfic. Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

Here he was. having a drink, but the question was how did he make that decision? It was honestly a very long story with a mess of too many..thoughts that led up to the decision. Let's start from the beginning.

He had saw Shun, before the Miami Championship even started. He had seen him far below the high buildings he had trained with Yuzu. Sora should want to bring him to his knees or any XYZ user to their knees for that matter, but..he found himself wrestling too many emotions.

"Today I'll grind everyone down into dust with my dueling and then..!," Sora began, working on his face an insane grin before it dropped into a frown and he slumped down against the wall.

"What gives?," Sora asked. "I use to have so much fun in watching people writhe in fear. Now I'm just all sorry about it? That's ridiculous."

"Professor use to make me run for my life to make me understand what it was like to be hunted and why I should unite the world to show no one should be hunted and those who do hunt others will receive hunting back to them as it was justice! I always wanted to shift that position onto others after he told me to do so and not to mention, I never wanted to freaking feel like that ever again!"

"So why am I not enjoying it now!?"

Sora than jumped up, smirking wildly, as he yelled, "I will make all fall at the blades of my monsters! They will rip everything to shreds!"

Sora then clasped his hands and began, "Fusion sum-"

He then stopped, not feeling the mood, and sat down again.

"Maybe the reason I don't feel like it is that after I'm done with it, when I think on it and really look at everyone, I only see me punishing myself off for allowing myself to be hunted when someone.."

Sora then stood up again, pumping his chest and yelled, "When someone as great as I should never feel that way! Ha ha ha!"

Sora's laughter stopped though and he once again slumped down. "Seriously though. It's pathetic. To be hunted. To have to get on your knees. I don't kneel before my enemies. And I'm right...for hunting people. I'm not wrong. How can I be? Scum gets what scum deserves."

Sora tightened his fist before saying, "Then again..you could say I'm the worst scum. Hunting others..when I've been hunted before."

Sora honestly hadn't been feeling well. He was tired and a bit..depressed. He wasn't suppose to allow himself to have such emotions but constantly acting like someone you weren't really and being reminded that all he had ever known was to fight in battle for this Professor that didn't even do anything but give orders was obnoxious. Tonight, he would drop being sneaky and precise. Tonight, he would drop being sweet and innocent. Tonight, he would just allow himself to stare at the world in apathy.

He sat on the stool in the Miami Bar, ready to have a drink, and allow his thoughts to wander around aimlessly.

His thoughts kept going back to his student. He had decided lately to have night lessons and Yuzu had willingly complied.

His feelings around her were beginning to get harder to control. He hadn't even understood how they had started.

It could of been though how she had easily warmed up to him. It had happened a bit more after his duel with Yuya.

When Sora had come to keep an eye on Yuya with his pendulum summoning during his duels, Sora would occasionally let some harsh comments slip out about the duelist's strategies and Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya would yell about how rude he was being. Yuya would comment on him about that, trying to reason with him but Sora was stubborn and wasn't listening. Yuya would then opt to invite Sora to parties though and reason with Sora again. Yuya was nice but Sora wouldn't allow himself to be won over that easily. He wouldn't deny that his heart did soften a bit at Yuya's kindness, but he was not getting rid of his blunt sharp tongue.

Sora however did pay a lot more attention to Yuzu during all of the parties. "All I'm saying is that duelist just wasn't good enough," Sora said. Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya all remained silent, thinking Sora's bluntness was a hopeless cause. Yuya opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Yuzu then came in with a bunch of bakery treats she had gotten for sale. Everyone rushed towards it happily but Sora was still sulking about how Yuya wasn't giving up on getting rid of his bluntness.

"Sora, don't you want one?," Yuzu asked and Sora sharply retorted, "I don't need one. I'm not feeling hungry."

Yuzu looked disappointed, which made Sora smirk and already he could see Yuya and the kids begin to tell him off for how roughly he used his tone but Yuzu only smiled, waving her hands and saying, "It's fine. Sora didn't want any so it's best to not force him. If he ever gets hungry later, he can always ask."

Yuya and the kids remained silent before Yuzu decides to sit down and start a conversation with Sora.

"You probably prefer home cooked meals like Yoko's, huh?," Yuzu asked and Sora nodded.

"Home made meals definitely have more of a feeling of hospitality with them so I could see why you would like it."

"...Yes," Sora stubbornly admitted.

"Speaking of hospitality, where do you come from?," Yuzu asked and Sora thought grumpily, "A place without hospitality."

"Ah, I guess that was a bad question to bring up, " Yuzu said. "You don't seem to wanna talk about it."

"Ok..how about...oh! How is your stay here at Miami City? What do you like the most?"

"The sweets," Sora bluntly replied and Yuzu chuckled.

"I bet he would say that for any place," Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya muttered.

Sora expects for Yuzu to try to point out the negativity of his bluntness like Yuya but is instead surprised by her next question.

"What's your favorite sweet Sora?," Yuzu asked.

She's not...pointing his bluntness out.

"Um..I like chocolate pocky," Sora answers before continuing with, "But I ran out of some."

"I have some if you want," Yuzu said, slipping a box out to him before she chirped, "You can keep it!"

He stared at it before saying, "..Thank you."

"Well I have to get going so I.."

"Wait!," Yuzu called and Sora stopped. "I'll walk home with you."

This girl was being very hospitable towards him. Before Sora could open his mouth, the door slammed shut and he muttered, "Right. Guess were doing this."

The chilly air soon hit Yuzu's skin, making her shiver.

"C-Cold," Yuzu stuttered and Sora only stared at her before saying, "You ask to walk with me and don't have a jacket? You clearly weren't thinking."

Yuzu laughed before saying, "I guess so. All I thought was walking to your house and wishing you a good night."

Sora wishes he could find some excuse out of this since he didn't exactly have a place he stayed at in Standard Dimension and was used to just sleeping outside. He finds his prayers answered when rain began to pour down.

"Jeez, it's raining! Oh, well my house is much too far. Looks like I'll need to find a place to crash tonight and I know a place nearby. Thank you for your great hospitality and all but I really have to leave. You know how it is. Well, walk safely home," Sora said.

"Why don't you come to my house?," Yuzu asked. "My father is having a talk at Yoko's house so it'll just be us. He said something about making Yoko a teacher since she's good at synchro summoning."

Not what Sora was expecting but he took any excuse. He faked a smile and said, "Really? Great!"

Yuzu smiled back, saying, "Yeah! I wouldn't want you with no shelter."

The line sticks out to Sora as no one has ever really cared about his well being that much.

"...Why did you wanna walk me home?," Sora asked, and Yuzu pauses before saying, "Whenever anyone ever brings up the subject of home with you, you never seem comfortable."

"I can tell..by the way you always dodge answering the question. Even so...even if you do it bluntly and even harshly sometimes, you always put out an admirable sense of cleverness that I can learn from. I wanted to say that I don't know why you avoid the subject of home, but to me Sora, someone who has such a brilliant sharp mind shouldn't feel uncomfortable! You don't have to tell me why you dodge the question. When you're ready, you can tell me, because I won't mind listening to you. I just wanted you to know whatever feeling of no safety you felt wasn't true because it's your ability to always have a passion of trying to figure out hard challenges that inspired me and made me feel just glad to have you in my life! I really care about you, Sora. That's why I wanted you to feel safe. To prove you already were safe with how you always try to think of a way to tackle a challenge. I just wanted to see you happy. I really care about you Sora."

"I don't want you to ever feel uncomfortable."

"Your ambitious nature inspired me! I was worried that you didn't even know how great your ambitious self was...so I just wanted to walk with you because at the end, I wanted to wish you a good night and tell you how glad I am that you are in my life, because I really am happy to have met you. If no home made you feel comfortable before, I want all of the time I spend with you to seem like a home filled with good memories where you never feel unsafe Sora because..I love spending time with you. I love how you always try to maintain your sharp intellect even after questions about where you come from make you uncomfortable. Sora, thank you for always trying. You're a great example of a worthy duelist that I'll always look upward to and I never mind learning from you."

"Yuzu," Sora breathed out. "Is that really..what you think of me?"

Yuzu nods, eagerly stating, "Yes. Every time you're around me I can't help but think I must be the luckiest person because Sora is in my life!"

Yuzu expected Sora to bring up a prideful comment such as, "It's kinda hard to not enjoy life when I'M around," but is met with something else.

"But I'm not even..that amazing," Sora muttered, because he was only a soldier that only knew how to fight.

"But you are amazing," Yuzu countered. "And every time you're around me, you only continue to make my day better."

"...Why do you say things like that?," Sora asked, and Yuzu only smiles, responding with, "Because, it truly is and honestly is how I really feel about you and nothing will ever change that."

Yuzu shouldn't matter to Sora but she does. She would fill him up with far too much praise, shattering the childish innocent facade he used on her and she wouldn't even be aware of it. She would care and care about him, wanting him to be happy. She would always ask how he was doing and claim how happy she was just to be with him. And for what? Because it was just how she sincerely felt about him.

Because she was..far too sincere and heartfelt..and he knows what Academia would say. They would tell him to break her. To crush her.

But how can you break something that doesn't even hide any walls to crumble down? How can you break something that's so open!?

The answer was you couldn't and even if Sora would think he was only entertained by how stupid and naive her kindness was, and grow up enough insanity again to claim he's just going to get a show when she's deeply hurt by it all, his plans would always disappear whenever she smiled at him and laughed.

That made Yuzu dangerous. Because..she was strongly kind.

He couldn't do it. He didn't want to. Separate himself from her, he thinks, but it doesn't work because this is Yuzu and she treats him with so much trust. She treats him, knowing he has walls he puts up about the subject of home, but is still patiently open minded, telling him to just tell her when he feels ready to talk about his pain. In other words, even if he had tried separating himself, putting up walls not answering her, her kind sentiments would still be heavy on his walls. They would feel the weight of how long she was willing to wait for him to just talk when he needed to and the weight of her patience wore all the walls away.

Then Sora is faced to realize she doesn't only do that to him but also causes his face to become heated and his heart to race.

As Sora takes another sip of his beer, his mind go further into remembrance.

Sora had stepped into Yuzu's house, about to go further before Yuzu tugs at his sleeve. "Your jacket is wet," Yuzu stated. "I'll dry it for you."

Sora stared at her thinking of how hospitable she was before nodding slowly to her. Yuzu gleefully smiled, saying, "I'll make sure it's nice and warm again", and Sora wondered how such simple acts could make her happy. He then felt his lips tug upwards at her before he touched them with his fingers surprised by what he had just done.

"Hmm..I needed to get it but I don't know where it is," Yuzu said, grabbing a stool and standing on it to reach for something. Sora decided to try and help but he then noticed how much shorter he was than her.

He officially hated height difference.

"Thanks for trying," Yuzu said, beaming at him before losing her balance. Luckily, Sora catches her, and smiles before saying, "Be more careful."

Yuzu blushed a bit before saying, "A-ah, right!"

She then releases herself from his grip and decides to look for something else.

Sora decides to look around the house and finds a photo collage of Yuzu and Shuzo.

Underneath the photo collage is a picture of Yuya and Yuzu together in front of a building labeled, "Miami Preschool."

He soon decides to sit down, only to be met by a very happy Yuzu who called, "Sora!", running towards him before tripping over the couch and landing on his chest. "S-Sorry!," Yuzu said, before feeling Sora place a hand on her back and tease, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted positions like this."

Yuzu quickly backed away from him, stuttering, "T-That's not it! I just found some more sweets."

She then poked her fork into what seemed like a chocolate covered treat and said, "They're really good! I use to have them in preschool! I bet you would like them if you try them and.."

Sora soon stopped her rambling however by leaning forward, grabbing her wrist, and diving right into the treat. Once he had swallowed, he smiled and said, "You're right. They are good. Thank you, Yuzu."

"N-no problem," Yuzu stammered, before saying, "S-Sora, you're still holding my wrist."

Sora soon lets go, blushing slightly, and Yuzu's heartbeats are racing.

"It's getting late. We should probably go to bed," Yuzu suggested, trying to calm her heartbeats down.

"I'll take the couch and you can.."

"I'll take the couch in your room," Sora interrupts and Yuzu begins to protest but Sora doesn't listen.

Since Sora is too stubborn to listen to her pleas, Yuzu decides to snuggle deeper into her bedsheets, wishing Sora a good night.

Sora couldn't get to sleep. His mind was reeling from all of the new sensations he felt around Yuzu. The silence that persisted was soon interrupted by moaning he could hear from Yuzu.

Sora had figured out Yuzu apparently was not a peaceful sleeper. He hadn't been expecting that considering she was optimistic most days but he found her shifting around in bed, with very pained expressions.

"I don't understand," Yuzu mumbled. "Why do you look like Yuya but you're not him? I don't even know your real face. One second I see Yuya, and the next second I see well..you."

"...I don't like..not knowing someone's real face. It reminds me of how..I never got to see my mother's face."

Sora now found himself staring at her surprised, now curious as to why that was so.

"..Dad said she was too ill and ended up not making it while giving birth to me."

Yuzu then began sobbing, before whispering, "I wanted to see your face, Mom. I thought I had moved on. I really did. I was working hard on becoming a strong duelist to fight alongside Yuya!"

"But then..that masked man..whoever he was..kept coming and reminding me of you in a way with how I never got to see your face."

"That's why..I panicked during my duel with Masumi. I tried to grab that Action Card but it wasn't there!"

"I even began to wonder if I had saw Yuya's real face. I was foolish. He was right there so there was no need for me to doubt him! And even so..he still reassured me that my loss was okay."

"I may not be like Yuya with how he sometimes forces a reflection of a smile but I still succumbed to a reflection of what wasn't really there!"

"Because Mom it's like..I know you're apart of me so I must carry some of your own physical features and even though you're not there when I look in the mirror I can't help but think I'm looking at your reflection. Then I realize..it's just me. You're not actually there."

"It's like I'm being hunted by what isn't there. I figured I could just fight the hunting off with dueling but it's still there! But..I'm not going without a fight! I won't lose!"

"I haven't..figured out the words to say to Yuya and the others about this but I..don't know, where to even start. Everyone knows I'm worried and they believe that I'm always strong enough to handle anything by myself but I.."

"So maybe it is as Sora says. I overwork myself too much."

Sora nodded at that.

It was a quality of Yuzu's that both interested him and worried him.

He could remember multiple times where he said during his lessons with her how it was important to take a break too, but Yuzu had always either reluctantly give in or scream, "NO! I need..I need to get stronger now to protect the ones I don't want to hurt, and for myself too!"

"Really, Yuzu?," Sora asked, surprising her. "You're practically gasping for air right now. You haven't stopped talking to me about how you won't stop to protect those dear to you, but you never mentioned yourself at all and by what your doing to your body right now, I can't even tell if you are thinking about yourself."

"No..I'm..," Yuzu began. "I'm withstanding pain for myself and others.

"But I thought you dueled to protect everything, not to hurt anything!," Sora snapped. "You're hurting yourself right now! You're overworking yourself right now! Don't bite off more than you can chew."

Yuzu then dropped to the ground, heaving, frustrated that her thoughts had been distracted by the masked figure using XYZ summoning, her loss to Masumi, how she didn't know anything about why she possessed a bracelet on her, why she couldn't have dueled alongside Yuya during the battle with Sawatari, and..EVERYTHING!

"It's because..," Yuzu began but she decided to not say something after all.

"You always do that," Sora said, and Yuzu's eyes still remained on the ground. "..And I get it."

"Everyone says you can always handle it or you'll do great next time, when in reality, you can't **always** handle it. No one can."

"You overwork yourself because you're torn between genuinely helping those close to you but also trying to make them understand you don't want expectations put on you to always win so you try to show yourself losing. I'm not saying stop being strong. I suggested a break because overwhelming yourself will never work. You can keep striving to be strong again after a break."

"But the future makes you anxious with everything that has been occurring recently around you. That's why I keep saying I know it's hard but I believe you can do it. I know that you want someone to acknowledge it's hard, don't you? I understand. So rant."

"...What?," Yuzu asked and Sora stared her down before saying, "Rant."

"You want someone to understand you can lose and still try in the present moment, while expressing all the mixed feelings you felt from your loss, and not have the future talked about so much because you're not so sure about it, right?"

"I get it so why don't you shout about that to Yuya and the others?," Sora asked.

Yuzu then stood up, confessing, "Because..they all meant well even if they didn't have the words I wanted to hear. Because I couldn't just yell at them for not understanding why I didn't like "Next time!" because everyone understands things differently! Because..they all matter to me. They're my friends. I'd do anything for them."

"But would you do anything for yourself?," Sora calmly questioned and Yuzu only remained silent.

"It's always about your friends first and you second. It's always about being stronger for others first and then yourself, but if you're so busy being stronger for others more and not yourself sometimes, when will you be strong for yourself since it's your own life? You're only getting lesser away from your own self that way."

"And I know the feeling of not even knowing yourself, Yuzu," Sora said. "I know the feeling of having your identity only being defined by what you do and not how you feel. So.."

Sora then flicked her forehead with his finger and said, "Knock it off and say how you feel already."

"Why don't I tell you how I feel about you? You seem kindhearted but clumsy, always spacing out instead of directly stating your worries. You try to calmly analyze everything but sometimes not understanding leads you to getting frustrated and ticked off. You mostly get easily upset when anything is harmed because you wish for everyone to have a safe well being. You like trying new things and think of them as a challenge, but..you care about other's hospitality more than you do for yourself and that can lead you to get hurt. What would you do if the people you were trying to protect were hurt over how you were hurt? Lastly, what would you do if you hurt yourself and you promised yourself you wouldn't but instead be strong? **If that's the case, you failed both others and yourself."**

"You always love meeting new duelists but what about it being the other way around? What about new duelists meeting you? You haven't taken care of yourself. You want to show them your own dueling style too and the fun you have with it, but you find yourself getting more caught up in the fascination of their abilities. Don't forget. A duel includes you, Yuzu, and who will see you if you don't show your own entertainment during dueling? Don't just think about meeting new duelists. Let them meet you too, Yuzu."

"Sometimes, don't just act for others. Act for yourself too."

"I know you're trying despite your worries for yourself, but sometimes..talking about it would express that same message. You don't just need..actions all the time."

Yuzu looked up to him and smiled before she said, "You know everything about me and I'm still never expecting what you do with me."

Sora smiled before saying, "You're not suppose to. It would kinda kill the fun of the master being ahead of the student if they knew everything. Besides that..it's not like I know everything about you. I..never understand why you go that far for people. I'm a master so naturally I do as the term says. I still try to master everything. I like challenges. They entertain me and give me something fun to fight for when I poke around with possibilities to master. When they're done, I feel satisfied but..you're the one challenge I could never understand and are fine with not understanding. I want to know why you act the way you do and I find it frustrating because this is the first time I haven't gained understanding of something. But as time passes on, I begin to enjoy..just trying to understand you. I wanted a challenge and I got one. I wanted something that wasn't a waste of my time. Something that made me think and feel. And you're that something."

Yuzu began to laugh and ask, "Wouldn't that mean the student is ahead of the teacher though if not understanding me is an advantage?"

"No," Sora retorted. "Because it's not like you understand me all that well either if you can't expect what I do. I'm ahead."

Yuzu laughed before saying, "Actually, I think that makes us equals in how we like trying to understand each other. We both have a lot to learn and teach each other. "

"..Equals?," Sora asked and Yuzu nodded. Sora always liked the idea of him triumphing and dominating more over others but..the concepts of equals didn't seem that bad because it was a challenge of two of them stubbornly trying to understand one another and that made him think.

"Yeah..for once," Sora began before smiling at her. "I don't mind being equals."

"Sora, thank you," Yuzu said. "I've mainly been worried over understanding why my loss with Masumi had happened, why that masked figure came into my life, and why I couldn't have dueled alongside Yuya against Sawatari." "I'm frustrated that I don't have answers, but I also know that I can search for them. I just also need to express how irritating it is for me to not knowing why any of this is happening to me and trusted that I can still try to succeed. Thank you for trusting me."

Yuzu then heaved a sigh of relief and Sora only smirked as he said, "It feels better when you talk about how you feel, doesn't it?"

He then looked off seriously before saying, "Then..I suppose I'll tell you..the truth about me before the Miami Championship so when it happens, you at least had a warning."

"When it happens?," Yuzu asked and Sora clenched his fists.

"I..," Sora began, wondering why he was doing this.

There was no reason to wonder. It was because he cared for her.

"I.."

The words needed to be said.

"I do have a home even if I don't talk to it about you. It's not the best home but..it's all I've ever known and I can't..betray it for the noble cause of uniting a world and for those who are unjust against that cause, they justly..hurt them."

"I'm not like you. Well..maybe I am, considering your loyalty to want a safe home where no one has to be hurt with justice but protected with justice, but..I'm bound by my home."

"You're bound by it?," Yuzu asked.

"..Yes," Sora said, clenching his fists even tighter.

"I haven't showed my real self to you whenever I act childish. That's not me. That's the child I wanted to be before I had grown up into hurting others."

"But you..broke down that barrier. I felt like I could always be my own self around you. I always felt like I should hurt you for your naive sense of justice but you kept breaking all my barriers down with your kindness and your hospitality. I hated how you did that and how I easily kept giving into it because I realized...you're the first person I ever cared about and worried about."

"Why do you care so much about me? I kept asking that over and over. You should hate me. I had thoughts of hurting you. I had thoughts of betraying you and laughing at how much in pain you would be. I was making up excuses to not talk about my home and being secretive, yet you still cared! You should be..annoyed that I wasn't showing my real self and that..THAT I WAS A FICKLE PERSON, YUZU! And yet you..still tried to get to know me. You tried to make me happy and I began to enjoy spending any time around you. As you broke my barriers down during fusion lessons, you saw I was blunt and cynical about what I had to do but you would always still stand beside me, telling me how happy you were to be beside me and just have me in your life when..it should be the other way around, Yuzu, even if you argue it shouldn't."

"And you didn't do any of this because you felt sorry for who I am as a person. You did this all because you genuinely liked who I was. You genuinely cared and worried about why I was hurting..who I am, and I don't know why..you would do so much for someone like me! You did this all for me, even when you were worried about Yuya and Masumi. I don't know why I care about you too. I don't know why you make me happy when you smile. I don't know why I like hearing you laugh and just talk to me. I don't know why I like seeing you because I shouldn't!"

"I don't deserve to when I had thoughts of hurting you before! I don't deserve to spend time with you when I'm..a cruel person and you'll see soon how ruthless I am during that Miami Championship because...there's someone I have to beat. Someone who I will loathe for eternity. It's..an XYZ user."

"Listen to me. Someone is looking for you. Someone is going to steal you away from this place and take you to another one and when they do, I'll find you again and send you back to a safe place but I won't stop completing my mission."

"I've warned Yuya about it. I told him to be careful or you'll be stolen away. Before you're taken away and thrown into the horror of war Yuzu, I wanted Yuya to at least let you know just what you mean to him and you to do so too. You know what I mean by that. I know you both like each other **romantically**."

Sora felt his heart curl into disgust at those words but he quickly shook his head as he had more important manners to deal with. Still..there was still time. Maybe he could say it.

"I can understand why you both like each other so. You're kind people who don't want to hurt anyone and move me deeply and I can relate to how all three of us struggle saying our worries but still try to look out each other. Yuya and you are my first friends. That's why..I want you to be happy with each other and keep pushing the fact that you should confess to one another."

"Even though..I want to be the one romantically with you, Yuzu," Sora thought. Yuya is his friend. He should support his friend's desires and be glad that someone as great as him likes someone as great as Yuzu and smile that they're happy together but..

"There's not enough time, Sora," Sora thought.

"I promise after I send you back here, I will bring Yuya back to you," Sora said. "But you two..can't bring me back. I live in a different world from you. I am a traitor because..I made friends with the enemies."

"What are you..talking about?," Yuzu asked, her azure eyes mixed with worry and confusion and Sora gave a dry laugh.

"Clueless as always, Yuzu," Sora states before his expression turns into a somber one as he looks at her.

"I don't..want you hurt."

Yuzu's eyes widened again and she was now confused. The masked figure had said the same thing to her and now Sora was saying the same thing to her.

Why? Nothing made sense again! How could she possibly get hurt!? She was a regular girl who dueled for fun with Yuya and the others! So why..? Why was Sora saying this to her as if..that would all change one day?

"The only gift I ever gave to you was fusion summoning. Maybe I believed..you actually could change the awful meaning of hunting that it stood for because you fought for your friends, and Academia...never taught that. Maybe I thought it was a symbol of strength that suited someone as strong as you and that's why I was angry when that XYZ scum said my present didn't suit you. What else..could I give you when most of my time is taken up by my mission for my home!? Anything else I could try to give you wouldn't seem like enough when you always go so far for me. That was all..I could do, so what gave him the right to say my present didn't suit you!?"

"And why do you.."

Sora can remember his teasing comment he made to Yuzu about Yuto stealing her heart, and her blushing.

He can tell. It's small but it is..somewhat interest in him.

He wants to ask why. He only insulted her strength when he said fusion summoning didn't suit someone strong as her. Why? Stop worrying about him.

He doesn't deserve someone as kind as you.

Sora was about to finish his question before realizing he didn't deserve someone as kind as her either and started to say, "Forget it. This is stupid."

It's Yuzu's choice of who she's interested in and Sora can't snap at her for how she feels just because he's...jealous.

If he really loved her, he would respect her choices and stand by her.

He has to stop getting side tracked with his personal feelings.

"I'm going to leave to my home and you can't bring me back."

"What are you saying!?," Yuzu asked. "I don't understand, Sora! What do you mean you're bound by your home? That sounds more like a prison to me."

"..Aren't you bound by Miami City since it's your home?," Sora inquired. "You can't leave it then. I'm the same with where I come from."

"I'm not bound by Miami City!," Yuzu yelled. "What makes something a home Sora is the fun moments of spending time with everyone that you have the option to agree to, not be bound by! If you're bound by it, can you really say it's a home? It's not. It's a prison."

Sora had been confused, switching between whether Academia was a prison or not, but this time he had an answer.

"Perhaps it is, but what's not a prison is it's goal. Therefore, I will do anything to accomplish it. I'll leave this place and you won't bring me back."

"Besides.."

Sora's grin on her was now one of sheer insanity as he yelled, "I was only too enthralled with how I never expected things to turn out this way and having something new instead of only following orders for once!"

"To isolation I will return! Because I was meant for it. Even after I have formed bonds, in order to assist those dear to me, you can't be involved with me because you'll get hurt so I will isolate myself. It's what my whole life is meant for Yuzu."

"That can't be true!," Yuzu argued. "Even after you leave, I'll come and bring you back Sora! You say I'll be hurt if I'm involved with you? I duel to protect those I cherish, Sora! If I'm hurt, I'll just mend the wounds since I've learned that from knowing how to succeed at protection!"

"Sora, can't we make a home together!? Can't I help you with your goal to unite a world peacefully!? Can't I keep you from isolation and make you see how much more fun it is when were together!? Can't I!?"

Yuzu now had tears falling but Sora grabbed her face and brushed them away with his fingers. "Yuzu," Sora said, his tone low and serious.  
"I will leave, and you can't bring me back."

"I-don't-believe-you," Yuzu managed to choke out, each word hard to say. "Sora, if were really friends, we would share the pain so no one has to bear the burden alone! Aren't you the one who hates being alone!?"

Sora's eyes widened before Yuzu's eyes soon held a steel resolve and she then grabbed his hands yelling, "I WILL BRING YOU BACK SORA!"

At this, Sora released his hands from her urgent grip and smiled but there were too many emotions in that smile for Yuzu to count.

"It would be a new scenario in the game that I didn't anticipate if you were able to bring me back," Sora said.

His smile was bittersweet. It was full of warmth and affection but also insanity. This was pushing Sora to his limits.

"I will..bring you back," Yuzu repeated solemnly and Sora retorted, "I'd like to see you try. I gave you a warning of what I'll do and be like during the Miami Championship. You still believe you can persuade me into not leaving and coming back?"

"Yes," Yuzu responded firmly. "The days I spend with you before the Miami Tournament will convince you to stay! I'll bring you back even after the ruthlessness you say you'll do during the Miami Championship and convince you to say! I won't stop. Not until I know you feel safe about your choice and something tells me isolation would only not at all make you feel safe but rather depression. I'll prove that you deserve to be happy and safe, spending time with me and **nothing will stop me, Sora."**

"...You're too nice. Go ahead and see if you can succeed," Sora stated and Yuzu only wore an even fiercer determined expression.

Sora stared at the sleeping Yuzu before him, smiling as she mumbled, "Sora is kind enough to notice how I'm overworking myself and always tell me to take a break. He's kind even if he feels uncomfortable about his home. That's why I want him to see he's too good to be isolated."

"I'm too good?," Sora thought bitterly. "You're the one who's too good."

"I obviously aren't if I'm always won over so easily by how you care about me."

"I know what you'll argue. I'm too good for remaining stubborn with you when you're also stubborn and not listening to me telling you to not overwork yourself. You'll argue I'm patient for always trying with you. I'm not. I rush, Yuzu. I want things quickly done and I don't take my time enjoying it if it's drawn out for too long. I want things resolved quickly. If I'm angry, I yell it. You don't so you worry me and frustrate me with how fine you are with lengthening your time to not say the thoughts that worry you."

"You're the one..who's too good. Being so stubborn back to me when it comes to defending my happiness even after I isolate myself further from you."

"No..why am I saying that?," Yuzu mumbled. "It's because we both think we're too good that I can't convince him. Were not too good. Were equals. Were challenges."

Yuzu then smiled as she asked, "Why would I trade something as valuable as that?"

Yuzu's smile soon dropped into tears as she tossed again in bed.

"Sora, why can't you see that? Sora, don't leave. Yuya, Masumi, Gongenzaka, Dad, Yoko-san, Tatsuya, Ayu, and Futoshi, what do I do because I'm worried that I can't be strong enough to protect all of you who are dear to me. I've got to though! I'll keep trying but still I wonder if my feelings are reaching any of you."

Yuzu's eyes fluttered open and Sora silently climbed in to bed with her, wrapping his arms around her, whispering into her ears, "Sleep-talking? You're overworking yourself again. You just can't help but be selfless, can you?"

"And you're still..the only one who sees me actually talk about my doubts," Yuzu confesses and Sora doesn't say anything more.

"Sora, thank you."

"...You're welcome...Yuzu."

The night lessons with Yuzu continued and Sora's feelings for her only increased. Enough to where he would actually sleep but when he did, he would have..dreams.

In his dreams, Yuzu would pass by him and he would give her a pat on the head. Her hair was soft and he enjoyed the silken touch of it underneath his hand so though he tried to stop he would then feel the urge to run his fingers through her pigtails. Unconsciously he fulfilled the desire and it took him awhile to realize what he was doing.

He had he stuttered out an apology but Yuzu would only laugh, saying, "I guess I had something in my hair, right Sora?"

"R-Right," Sora stammered and Yuzu would smile. Sora would focus in on it, his eyes slowly drifting to her lips, and he began to make excuses just to get close to her.

"Hold still, Yuzu," Sora told her, as he cupped her tender face with his hands, peering deeper into her azure eyes staring back at him. He had used the excuse that he thought he had seen something on her face and Yuzu seemed confused as to why he could go to great lengths just for that.

He was acting odd. He knew he had been, but it was because she was causing all of these desires in him. Her happy humming voice would tug at his heart, making him stay, and her chimes of laughter would make his heart soar higher. She needed to stop making him do things because try as he might Sora's emerald eyes would intently stay on her and refuse to leave. Yuzu would come to sit beside him, their shoulders occasionally brushing each other, and Sora would find himself distracted.

"Isn't that great, Sora?," Yuzu would cheerfully ask, and Sora hadn't exactly been paying attention to what she was saying but he decided to make short replies back to her anyway. He would turn his face towards her beginning with, "Yeah..it's.."

His eyes were back on her lips again, and he would breathe out, "Great."

He can't help his curiosity to just know what her lips would be like against his lips.

"Alright!," Yuzu cheered, standing up before saying, "You have a duel coming up so I'm gonna help you look the part!"

"Let's see.."

Yuzu leaned closer to him, and Sora had to sharply intake air because she was very close to him, giving him an even better look of her eyes and a whiff of her scent which resembled strawberries. He had to fight the urge to lean closer to her and press his nose against her neck, whiffing in more of her scent.

Her fingers would play around with his hair, and adjust the collar of his jacket. Sora had to stop himself from tackling her there and kissing her senselessly all over.

"There. Better right?," Yuzu asked, grabbing his hands, and Sora had to try and not kiss them.

Sora nodded, deciding to stand up and walk somewhere else in the room but Yuzu placed a hand on his shoulder, sending electricity through him.

"Sora..is everything alright?," Yuzu asked innocently and Sora didn't respond.

"Sora?," Yuzu asked, and Sora turned around, walking closer to her and Yuzu backed away before her back had hit a wall.

Sora now hovered over her, his right hand on her right shoulder and his left hand on her left elbow.

Yuzu looked up at him curiously, asking, "Sora, what are you doing?"

He had lost control now. "Something I should of done a long time ago," Sora said, his right hand trailing up her shoulder before cupping the right side of her face.

Sora slammed his lips against hers, trying to make her understand how deeply she was affecting him and Yuzu's face was in a deep shade of crimson.

He bit her lower lip, making her open her mouth so his tongue could explore every bit of it.

When he had finished, Yuzu's eyes were in a daze, and her eyes had drifted from his eyes to his lips.

This was what Sora wanted. She was looking at **him and only him.** She was feeling flustered for **only him.**

"Sora," Yuzu softly said, and hearing her say his name made his senses go into a frenzy again so he pressed his lips against hers again.

"Sora," Yuzu softly said again, but his lips were capturing hers again.

"I..," Yuzu began and Sora only smirked as he leaned towards her, whispering in her ear, "I finally have your attention, Yuzu."

Sora's mouth traveled back to hers, and Yuzu brought him closer, pressing him closer against her, and kissing him back gently.

Sora smirked at what she had done and his smirk only grew deeper when she wrapped her hands around his neck.

Sora slid a finger under a chin before confessing, "I love you, Yuzu."

"And I love you," Yuzu said back, and Sora smiled. "Can you say it again?," Sora asked and Yuzu only flushed, looking down and blushing as she stuttered, "I-It's embarrassing."

"I just want to hear it again," Sora pleaded, and Yuzu still did not answer him. Sora smiled mischievously before saying, "Guess I'll have to make you say it."

Sora then trailed kisses down her neck and Yuzu squeaked, "S-Sora."

"Are you embarrassed?," Sora smiled, whispering in her ear again.

"I'm sure you're enjoying this too, aren't you?"

"Yuzu, I wanna hear those three words from you again."

After each kiss Sora left on her neck Sora would say, "I love you," and Yuzu's heart would race as she finally muttered, "I..love you."

Sora smiled and said, "That wasn't so hard that you made it out to be."

The next dreams he had were even more heated.

Yuzu would initiate..things with him and he wouldn't..mind.

She would sit on his lap, running her fingers in his hair, humming peacefully, "Sora," before she nipped his ears with her lips.

"You like this, don't you?," Yuzu purred and Sora would breathe out, "Yes."

Yuzu would only smile and kiss him.

Another time happened where she pushed him against the wall, holding onto his jacket's collar, kissing him and whispering, "Sora, I love you."

The next time would be when his muscles had been tense and she had offered to give him a massage. He tried to think nothing of the way her fingers were softly touching his shoulders but her also whispering, "Sora? Does this feel good?" over and over, and Sora would only stutter out a yes, wondering why she was being..seductive!

His thoughts had only gotten worse as he had another dream where she was practically on top of him, straddling his hips, and well..doing things that he clearly should not be thinking of.

His dreams had gotten so out of hand one day that blood had shot from his nose, and Yuzu would ask, "Are you okay!?"

She would raise her hand to his cheek before wiping the blood off and smiling that he was all better now but Sora couldn't help but think about all the dreams he had with her and blood only raced out of his nose. "Sora!," Yuzu would call but Sora just wanted it to all stop.

It didn't stop there though. He had more dreams.

Ones where he was on top of her and she was innocently asking, "What are you doing?"

Sora only said, "Desires that I've been wanting to try," before kissing her.

He had other ones where he would flirt with Yuzu and make her feel completely flustered.

There were far too many of those but one stuck to him the most.

Yuzu had been arguing about him over something with a fan and how she needed to focus on something but Sora had wanted her to only pay attention to him at that moment.

"I really need to finish it," Yuzu said, and Sora came behind her, wrapped his arms around before whispering, "But do you really want to?"

"There's something else you could do." Sora then ran his fingers down on his neck and Yuzu began to blush.

"R-really, Sora! I need to.."

Sora unwrapped his hands around her, whirling her around before leaning towards her as he grabbed her shoulders and asked, "You need to do what?"

"To..to..," Yuzu began before Sora asked, "What is it that you have to do?"

"I..uh," Yuzu began but as Sora leaned closer to her, his emerald eyes intently on her, she finally confessed in a dazed tone, "Don't remember."

"Now..where were we?," Sora asked, his lips back on her and she was lost in him.

He really should stop doing this because he had to remain loyal to Academia's will. Desires like this wouldn't help him even if he wanted them to become true.

Now, Sora was drinking, not even aware that he was drunk, and Yuzu was beside him, wondering why her Master would do such a thing.

"Sora?," Yuzu said, placing a hand on his shoulder and Sora had a smile on as he winked and slurred, "Hey beautiful."

"Are you..," Sora began before slipping out of his seat and landing on the floor.

He growled, "That didn't come out as smooth as I wanted it to."

"Sora, are you..," Yuzu began, before noticing Sora crying, "You're always so concerned for me. You're too kind, Yuzu. I'm beginning to doubt if I should even leave."

Yuzu wanted to talk more about the subject but if Sora was drunk, it wouldn't be the best time.

"Here I'll..take you to my place," Yuzu said, hoisting him up and Sora only smirked saying, "Oh? You're into **naughty** things?"

Yuzu blushed before saying, "Of course not. You're..really flirty when your drunk."

Sora stared at her seriously before asking, "You don't like it?"

That stopped Yuzu. She had been beginning to have new feelings around him ever since she had talked to him about her worries. She would stutter, her heart would skip a beat, and she would always blush. Always.

And she hadn't minded..when Sora flirted with her.

"I-I don't exactly dislike it," Yuzu confessed, but Sora had only pressed his head onto her chest, making her blush.

"S-Sora, what are you..?," Yuzu began but Sora said, "Pet me."

Yuzu's eyebrow twitched before she asked, "Excuse me?"

"...Pet my hair," Sora requested and Yuzu ran her fingers through his hair, confused at his request.

Sora giggled saying, "That feels nice. Why don't you do it often?"

"You..never requested it," Yuzu said, and Sora slurred, "It's embarrassing to ask."

"It's just me petting your hair," Yuzu argued but Sora only blushed and said, "Yes, and believe it or not that does..things..to me."

"Things?," Yuzu asked. Sora was back to smirking and asking, "You wanna know? Well.."

He was about to continue his sentence before he landed face flat and grumbled, "You have got to be freaking kidding me."

"Here Sora we really..," Yuzu began before feeling him press deeper against her neck and sniff her.

"S-Sora?," Yuzu asked, now feeling her face turn crimson. "Strawberries, huh? They suit you," Sora said.

"Sora, we need to..," Yuzu began before trying to move him off her body but Sora only tried to hug onto her tighter.

Yuzu's heart was racing before she hit him with her fan.

"Yuzuuuuuuu, why did you do that?," Sora whined.

"I..we just need to go home," Yuzu said, and Sora was dragged along.

"You need to go to sleep," Yuzu said but Sora only whined, "I don't want to."

It was silent and Sora laid on her bed, occasionally telling jokes about pranks he pulled on Yuya.

Yuzu laughed at some of them and Sora slurred, "See? I am better than Yuya in something."

Yuzu's smile dropped and she asked, "Why would it matter if you were?"

Sora remained silent before beginning to sob.

"Sora, what's..," Yuzu began before saying, "Why did I say that? Yuya is my friend. I should support him, instead of being jealous."

"Sora, wait," Yuzu calmly said but Sora's sobbing only grew more. Yuzu placed a hand on his back, stopping Sora, and she inquired, "What's wrong?"

Sora didn't answer before he changed the topic abruptly saying, "Bake me some sweets."

"Now's not the time for that," Yuzu argued. "Besides, I can always buy you sweets later."

Sora turned to her before mumbling something inaudible.

"What?," Yuzu asked and Sora continued to mumble inaudibly.

Yuzu then said, "I really can't hear.."

"I SAID I WANT SWEETS BAKED FROM YOUR HANDS!," Sora shouted, which surprised Yuzu.

"Eh? Why?," Yuzu asked.

"...You always make ones for Yuya but I never got to try any and I'm curious as to what your cooking tastes like, okay!?," Sora grumpily remarked.

"You never said you wanted any," Yuzu pointed out, and Sora's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Yuzu smiled before saying, "Next time ask. I'll make you some."

"...Ok," Sora responded, and Yuzu snickered.

"What are you laughing at?," Sora asked. "All this uproar over sweets," Yuzu laughed. "You really like them."

"Yuzu, I don't want to lay here," Sora groaned, sitting up but as Yuzu moved to push him back down Sora only took this as opportunity to smirk, grab her hand, and pull her down with him. He then wrapped his arms around her and said, "Mhm..comfy."

"Sora, what are you...," Yuzu began but Sora started to yawn. "I'm suddenly really sleepy," Sora said. "I don't wanna go to sleep yet. It's closer. To when I have to leave."

Sora then pulled Yuzu in closer and asked, "Yuzu..do you feel nothing for me?"

The question surprised Yuzu and she quickly yelled, "Of course not! I care very much about you!"

"..As more?," Sora asked and Yuzu was now confused. What did he mean?

"As more than a friend?," Sora clarified and Yuzu flushed.

Sora laughed sadly with no answer given and began to stroke Yuzu's pigtails.

"I guess not, but I can always have dreams. Yuzu, I am in love with you, even if I know it won't go nowhere. I can't help myself."

"This is a dream so I can do this..," Sora began before placing his lips on Yuzu and Yuzu froze.

Sora looked at her in the eyes before saying, "I love.."

Unfortunately, sleep was coming to him faster than usual so his head dropped down, his eyes became closed, and he whispered his last word. "You."

Yuzu blushed, strangely wanting her lips to reconnect onto his. She had liked that kiss and she knew why. With how willing she was to go for Sora , she knew it was because her heart yearned for him. Yuzu didn't want him to leave and neither did he so why was he so insistent on doing so? She tugged onto Sora's jacket before asking, "Don't you know what you do to my heart, Sora?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: First off thank you all for your support because it means the world to me. Your enjoyment of my stories is always valued and I'm glad to know that this was well received (even though I only planned for this to originally planned for this to be two chapter until seeing how well received it was.) ^_^

Second off, this chapter and the chapter after it is INCREDIBLY LENGTHY. Third off, I have returned from the grave of intense work for school and other activities in my life that made me far too busy. Fourth off, for this chapter I wanted to work on the transitioning of Yuzu's romantic attraction from Yuya to Sora realistically while highlighting the bond between them all along with simultaneously developing all of their characters personality-wise. Love triangles are incredibly hard to write and well in Yuzu's case...(you know with her liking Sora, Yuya, and Yuto, practically making a humongous rectangle, it gets even more complicated.) Even so, I can assure you that this will primarily focus on Musicboxshipping and that I am merely developing Yuzu's transitioning between her romantic feelings for others and Sora to enhance the realism and development of their relationship. This chapter takes place shortly after the night Sora got drunk. The day Sora woke up from being drunk will not be addressed until after next chapter as a few pieces to tie together Yuzu's and Sora's growth of relationship still need to be portrayed before I move the plot further along. Without further ado, I bid you off to your readings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V.

It was a warm day, the sun up in the light blue sky shining its bright rays down upon Yuzu and Yuya as they sat peacefully on the fresh cut evergreen grass.

"I baked you some treats to congratulate you on your success on your qualification matches for Miami Championship, Yuya!," Yuzu happily stated, her smile radiantly beaming, as she held out a green bag wrapped full of many sweets out to him.

"I know it's been a lot of hard work but this is a reward well deserving of your hard work!"

Yuya blushed upon her recognition, before saying, "You didn't have to..," averting his gaze, but..Yuzu could detect that there was some anger in it.

This type of expression happened a lot with Yuya, but tried as she might to understand it, she couldn't.

"It's no problem!," Yuzu cheerfully chirps.

This is her usual response to when he's acting like this.

Taking her gift within his hands, unwrapping the pink ribbon used to tie it, he stops before digging in.

"What's wrong?," Yuzu asked as he usually doesn't hesitate diving straight into her sweets.

Yuya pursed his lips his crimson eyes showing nothing but frustration before he finally sighed confessing, "..I've..I've missed your presence watching and supporting me during my duels, Yuzu. It's not just me that misses you but everyone at You Show Duel School misses your presence."

"Oh..," Yuzu said, finally recognizing what was irritating him, before thinking, "Maybe I should plan a surprise for one of his qualification matches where everyone is watching him and we surprise him at the end that we were all watching. I think he might like that and that would make up for my presence."

She then states, "I'm sorry, but..I promise to watch your last two qualification matches to make it up to you. And it won't just be me, **but Sora as well!",** smiling brightly at Yuya but Yuya's eyes narrowed upon the mention of Sora's name.

" **You spend a lot of time with Sora,"** Yuya noted, his tone reflecting jealousy.

"Well, I do feel a **very close** connection with him," Yuzu said, smiling fondly.

"But I'm not forgetting my connection with you, Yuya."

" **You're my dear friend that I'll always make time to support."**

"..I'm not jealous or feeling left out if that's what you think," Yuya argued, but he knew Yuzu would not believe his facade of no pain that he daily portrayed so he simply stated, " **Even if I was, it's not in the way you're thinking."**

Yuzu looked at him with such a confused expression now.

She thought he felt jealous from feeling like an abandoned friend.

What other way could he be jealous?

Yuya saw her confused expression chuckling a bit before smiling bitterly as he said, " **Oblivious."**

" **You treat...Sora differently and as someone whose very special to be just your friend."**

"You didn't have practice matches with me to qualify for Miami Championship because you already qualified so why practice? At least that's what I thought. **Someone strong like you doesn't need practice.** However, Sora told me elsewise. **He told me even a strong person like you needs practice. That's how they stay strong. He told me you came to him for Fusion Summoning because you viewed him as the only one that could see that about you."**

"You help Sora practice for Miami Championship, but not me."

" **He's an exception."**

"You watch his qualification matches but not mine."

"Did you really not have practice matches with me simply because you already qualified or for another reason? **Why does Sora get a special exception on you practicing with him but not me? That's what I mean by you treating me differently."**

"..He has amazing trust in me **despite seeing my limits,"** Yuzu explained.

"...I trust you too," Yuya argued.

He then smiled as he said, "I have full assurance that you'll always overcome any situation. **You can handle anything! I don't doubt your strength, Yuzu."**

Yuzu smiled softly at him before saying, "And I thank you for that, but.."

Her smile soon turned somber as she said, "While I appreciate your good intentions, you lack the ability to see I'm not invincible and have flaws...weaknesses..limits like any other human being. **You lift me on too high of a pedestal of praise. Sora can see when I'm pushing myself past my limit and still stands beside me for that. He can see..when I can't handle something, and still believes in the potential of my strength. He always tells me if I rest instead of overworking myself, biting off more than I can chew, I'll build up more energy to productively grow stronger than straining myself. Sora is..sincere and humane."**

"..I lift you on such a high pedestal of praise because your moral character deserves it," Yuya argued yet again.

"You're acting as if you don't deserve praise when you do."

"But then again..it's just like you to be humble like that."

"I just..want to be seen as your equal, Yuya," Yuzu softly replied.

"You're always overexalting me and claiming that in comparison to me, you're the one who needs to be strong and less weak. That you're the one deserving of less praise for your character like it doesn't matter when it does!"

" **Because that's just my perspective of our relationship and I don't see anything wrong with it," Yuya shot back.**

" **...I don't understand why you're so kind to Sora after he's so harsh towards you."**

" **You're too kind for your own good."**

" **You should be praised in the highest light."**

" **Why would you stand for a relationship where Sora lowers you?"**

" **Sora doesn't lower me," Yuzu objected with a sweet smile.**

" **I'm his equal."**

" **Were both equals in learning as master and student."**

" **A master still has things to master, hence the term."**

" **I help support Sora for Miami Championship and he helps me as well for it."**

" **It's a relationship of helpful mutualism..of equal support, Yuya."**

" **And you may not realize it Yuya but you and I are more alike than you think."**

" **You wanted to grow stronger to be someone Gongenzaka could rely on."**

" **I too want to grow stronger to be someone a dear friend could rely on."**

" **I've always admired that about you, Yuya."**

" **It's something were equals on."**

" **I only wish you couldn't believe I was strong enough, seeing my limits that cause me to improve, and in turn make me want to grow stronger like you."**

" **Even though you say you see me growing stronger, you don't."**

" **Strength to you is Pendulum Summoning evolving dueling, expanding horizons of learning new things, adding a sense of new uniqueness special to you and no one else."**

" **Me learning Fusion Summoning to you is a strength only because it's a new summoning style adding more new uniqueness to my dueling."**

" **The problem is those are just summoning techniques not who we are."**

"You don't share Pendulum Summoning with anyone else because after being seen as the son of a coward you feel wounded inside and worthless wanting to keep Pendulum Summoning, something unique and special, to yourself not sharing it with others because that would make it less unique and full of worth if others had it."

"You weren't happy about Reiji mass producing it."

"Pendulum Summoning is a symbol of unique worth when you feel worthless."

Yuzu gently placed her hands on Yuya's shoulders saying, " **But you don't have to prove your worth, Yuya."**

" **You're not just special because of Pendulum Summoning."**

" **Who you are is a one of kind entertainer whose character not just summoning method should be cared about."**

"You've got a world of colors inside of you."

"And that's because your worth belongs to you, and only you."

" **Nobody else."**

"You're a gift if you would only unwrap the layers you put around your heart, stopping smiling when you really feel sad."

" **It's best to be honest with yourself."**

"No one can take away the worth of colors inside you."

" **If people like you think they're worthless it's because you're all too busy focusing on the value of what you're not, forgetting the wonderful value of who you are."**

" **You're already so full of strength, Yuya."**

" **I'm not just strong because of Fusion Summoning but because of my character as well."**

" **Sora used to think the same way. That he was only strong because of Fusion Summoning but..I think now he's learning to cherish his heart..his sense of self too."**

" **My perspective of strength was me still trying to grow stronger even after my losses..my limits like you, Yuya."**

" **But..all you saw was a new summoning method," Yuzu thought sadly.**

"I know, Yuzu," Yuya stated, interrupting Yuzu's thoughts.

"I know I shouldn't be so self-conscious but I also can't help it sometimes."

"I struggle with understanding I'm more than just Pendulum Summoning."

" **Strength to me is the status of how my dueling evolves while for you it's in who someone is as a person."**

" **I can't do that because..I dislike who I am."**

" **Yuzu please understand though that I appreciate you helping me."**

" **I know I give off mixed signals where I don't seem to appreciate your assistance."**

"When we have practice matches together, I get jealous of your winning streak, and when you offer to help me up I harshly tell you I don't need your help."

" **I always do that."**

"You could be helping me reaching for something I can't reach off a shelf and cheerfully saying how it wasn't so hard helping glad to be of assistance and I'll just seem mad looking away from you saying you didn't have to help only to meet you time and time again cheerfully saying how it isn't a problem."

" **How I'm not a problem."**

" **You don't help me because I'm a burden but because you deeply cherish me."**

" **I want to see help the way you do, Yuzu. To be so loyal and trusting to me despite my actions is admirable."**

" **Though even sometimes you can see help the way I do."**

" **Not wanting to be a burden to You Show Duel School and always be a helpful source of strength is what you desire, Yuzu."**

" **You're exceptionally selfless."**

" **But unlike you, even though there are times you see me as someone who selflessly wants to support many people till they're smiling and entertaining many, I can be..selfishly concerned with my pride."**

" **Help becomes more of a concept on my inferiority complex with my strength to prove my usefulness by becoming someone that can be relied on. It's about rebuilding my self-image while with you it's about upholding the strength of others and yourself. Even if we both don't want to be a burden, our reasonings for why is different."**

"The biggest support of this is my attitude with Pendulum Summoning."

"Hearing that it wasn't just mine anymore infuriated me and you know why."

"It was what was restoring my wounded reputation of being seen as a coward."

"I was being respected as the pioneer of a new way of dueling and full of worth now."

"The respect I received and the grand reputation built matches the respect my father always received and the lofty reputation he held."

"But when I thought about it I realized **one glaring difference."**

"My father wasn't just thinking about the image of himself but the smiles of others."

"I felt sad...that I was such a selfish human being."

"I loved my father for being such an optimistic bright entertainer compassionate on bringing comfort to other's lives."

"I idolized him even if I was the complete opposite of his character."

"My father was sociable, and I was shy."

"My father was happy, and I was pessimistic."

" **But he loved who I was even so."**

" **It's just that I didn't."**

" **So I tried to act like him, the man I looked up to."**

"I was never genuinely approached because people liked my character."

"As Yusho's son, they wanted..benefits."

"Autographs, special entertainment lessons, their cards used in his duels, all from Yusho and the son was the closest source to be the deliverer, right?"

"People saw Yusho in me, but never me."

"They selfishly used me as a stepping stone for getting close to my father."

"When my father was gone, my mother and I still had an insane amount of wealth from his entertainment duels."

"I tried my hardest in school but I fell further from earning respect."

"I started to not care about classes, and fail them altogether."

"It didn't help that some students said in such bitter jealousy that I could use my wealth to pay me through in life."

"However..it made me relate to that one student, Sawatari."

"I heard people say he only got into tournaments for his wealth as the son of a mayor. I thought..he's similar to me. The same things are said about me. My wealth as the son of an entertainer wins me participation in a tournament not my own skills. That's what..others thought."

"But when I actually tried to approach him Sawatari bragged about how being the son of a mayor got him certain privileges."

"I called him selfish."

"Wouldn't you want to be seen as more than just your father's son and seen for yourself?," I asked.

Sawatari only told me, "Even if I did try to have that accomplished, I'd never have that accomplished so I might as well conform to being just my father's son."

"It was sad...that I was just like him in having that mentality."

"When Sawatari came up to me saying he was a big fan of my dueling, I genuinely believed that he meant that because of how alike we both were."

"When he took my Pendulum Summoning I wondered if that's because he wanted something that set him apart from being just his father's son."

"However Pendulum Summoning still makes me seen as a "grand entertainer like my father" and not.."Yuya's dueling."

"Maybe Sawatari saw that, and yet...him and I are beating dead bushes by believing it can still make us seem apart from our fathers."

"But I'm sure somewhere inside Sawatari realizes the dilemmas is that we need to believe in the worth of ourselves."

"When Sawatari told me the fact that I alone have Pendulum Summoning and no one else was unfair I thought he was trying to indirectly tell me like you're telling me like you're telling me right now that Pendulum Summoning isn't the only reason I'm special but because of my character. That I shouldn't duel with such selfishness."

"I get it now. Sawatari duels with selfishness like I do sometimes, but it's only because of the selfishness we've been dealt with of being used to get close to our fathers. With our real selves rejected we focus on building up the reputation of our self-image once again being selfish and forgetting the happiness of others caused by not sharing and keeping something to ourselves."

"I won't say Sawatari was right for attacking you and I all for Pendulum Summoning."

"That's..painting him in too grand of a light."

"But..the greatest apology to me would be seeing his character evolve past selfishness."

"That's why Sawatari told me he and I will be rivals in entertainment at the Miami Championship."

"We're going to think about the audience's smiles and actually accept ourselves, seeing our self-worth, because that's what it means to evolve into a new and unique duelist."

"Not just some...summoning method."

Yuya smiled and stated, "Anyway, that's why you keep hearing Sawatari scream, "Neo New Sawatari!"

He keeps telling me he's going to transform into a new **different** Sawatari that basks in the **greatness of himself.**

 **The greatness of himself?**

"Guess it's good that's he's taking worth in himself. I'll do the same, but this time for both Sawatari and I we won't be dueling to selfishly build a self-image, but with the consideration of the audience as well."

" **I can't be my Dad. As he always told me to be an entertainer, you have to accept yourself instead of trying to be another. What entertainers have to them is the uniqueness of their personality that can't be copied. They're a one of a kind gift like you always say, Yuzu."**

" **And as you told me, it can't be a one-man show."**

" **You knew I was thinking of only myself and forgetting the audience's smiles with only my self-image in mind. You were telling me to not be so isolated. There's no show if there is no audience to entertain and it's me by myself."**

" **At the end of the duel I was sad that everyone was mad that I didn't know how to Pendulum Summon but..Tatsuya stayed and you..the whole time you stayed too, always believing in me."**

" **I have to have as much trust in believing in myself as much as you two do in me unconditionally."**

Yuya then frowned, his crimson eyes now sad as he said, "I've been meaning to apologize to you."

"Like I said, you're too selfless and too..kind for someone not deserving of it."

"You keep trying to help me even if there are times I..that I don't seem appreciative of your help."

"I've harshly told you I don't need it sometimes and I've even called you a crude strong woman out of jealousy of your strength."

"Despite that you still..you're still kind to me."

Yuya paused, trying to figure out how to phrase his next thoughts.

His mind and heart were a mixture of emotions.

Yuzu could sense from the way he averted his gaze and clenched his fists that he was tense.

" **Sora feels the same way you do about him."**

" **The new feelings you feel around him that you don't know what they are yet."**

" **The way your hearts beat fast around eachother...is a common shared feeling."**

" **Though you're too oblivious to realize it around him."**

" **..Sora told me that I needed to be more understanding of you."**

" **He told me I shouldn't have insulted you as a crude strong woman."**

" **He went on to say you view strength as not a matter of jealousy, egotism, and pride but building up both yourself and others."**

" **I knew why he was telling me that."**

" **You've been wanting to help me but as Sora says you think your strength lifts you on too high of a pedestal to be able to reach down to someone who feels lower, and rejects your help, not feeling deserving of it. Not being able to help the ones you cherish hurts you."**

" **And if they tell you they admire your strength and they have to catch up to it, you feel like they're forgetting the amazingness of their strength and that a relationship of isolation is happening in them trying to chase after you whose out of distance with your strength and also you not being able to remind them of their self-worth."**

" **Sora told me the pride of leveled strength and not receiving your help by rejecting it was me too focused on proving my self-worth not realizing it's there already."**

" **He's not wrong, and I do owe you an apology."**

" **Even if you would just brush aside such a comment even if deserves nothing more than contempt."**

" **All I could think at that moment is...Sora really is like you."**

" **He's got the same perspective of strength you do if he can understand that much about you."**

" **And he's..selfless just like you."**

 **All of his words only reflected that.**

" _Yuzu deserves to smile as do you, Yuya. A selfless entertainer like you can manage that."_

" _You could do the same since you're so close to her, Sora."_

" _While I've tried to..I'm just met with her being sad over you and how you keep hiding your smile."_

" _More than anything, I want to see her happy as I do with you."_

" _So..even if I can't help, and you're able to help her that's fine as long as she's happy and you're happy."_

" _I'm sure while I've tried to help, Yuzu is the only one to make you happy."_

" _ **Well all that matters is that my dear teacher and student are happy."**_

" _You're just like her."_

" _Your selflessness I mean."_

" _You feel the same way romantically about her like I do but you feel as though she loves me more and are respecting her choice selflessly wanting her happiness despite your sadness of her not reciprocating your feelings."_

" _And just like she believes I'm an entertainer who makes others selflessly happy when I'm really selfish you think so too."_

" _You're even telling me I have worth like she does to care about me so deeply like her."_

" _ **I don't need to wonder why she's romantically close to you now and why you're romantically close to her."**_

" _ **Do I deserve this?"**_

" _I'm..I'm jealous like you are but…"_

" _You're willing to be selfless."_

" _Whatever choice she makes you respect."_

" _You want to support me and my romantic advances with her."_

" _You're telling me it's her choice of who she loves instead of being forceful."_

" _And yet..I was beginning to be selfish thinking of how you shouldn't be with her romantically out of jealousy when I should be supportive of you as you are of me."_

" _ **There are times where I wonder if I deserve Yuzu's love when I am anything but moral character with my selfishness and harshness."**_

" _ **But..I'll make it up to you and her, Sora."**_

" _ **I'll pay respect to her choices and support you as you do for me."**_

"How am I..going to voice my thoughts when I'm so confused?"

"I could argue you're too kind to Sora when he isn't to you, but..you do the same for me. I'm not different from him."

"All I can think is I'm a..better choice for your feelings but that's selfish and out of jealousy."

Yuzu was only confused as she inquired, "My...feelings?"

She wasn't catching on to that Yuya was talking about her romantic feelings.

"Even so..," Yuya was continuing to ramble.

"I was..I was nicer to you because you deserved it."

"When he insulted you, I called him out for it."

" **Someone as kind as you deserves to be treated with respect."**

" **Yet..why?"**

" **Your feelings are for Sora still."**

" **He doesn't treat you with respect is all I think."**

" **And yet...it's times like this where I realize he does treat you with respect from what you're telling me."**

" **He teaches you Fusion Summoning and seems very concerned over your well being."**

" **While I could argue I'm kinder to you that weigh out the times I've been mean."**

" **I'm no different from Sora."**

" **Both him and I are trying to make up for the times we've treated you meanly."**

" **Sora would argue both you and I are much kinder than him but..when I see the way he selflessly respects your choice and..mine as well not forcing me away from you and him wanting to maintain a friendship between all of us overall, I keep thinking, "It's the other way around, Sora. You and Yuzu are much kinder than me."**

" **...It's stupid, isn't it?"**

" **Me trying to prove how much better I am than him when I should be supportive of his feelings for you like he is of mine for you. That's what friends do, right?"**

" **It's times like this where I wonder, "How are both you and him not able to be selfish for your own choice!? When you're being treated meanly despite you two trying to help me, why don't you yell at me about how I'm not worth your time, making it easier for yourselves? How can you both be patient and selfless, respecting my choice of needing time to grow close to anyone, before I drop my facade of happiness and being coldly selfish?"**

More words from Sora lingered in Yuya's head.

" _Are you always like this, Sora?"_

" _Hmm? Like what, Yuya?"_

" _Selfless to the point of disregarding your choice. That has negative impacts, you know?"_

" _Hmm, I'm well aware, Yuya."_

" _So why? Why continue to be selfless?"_

 _Sora actually had a sad smile before laughing hoarsely as he said,_ " _ **I really don't know what's wrong with me, Yuya,"**_ _sanity slipping away from his widened jade eyes._

" _First, it started with my parents. So long as they were helped, it didn't matter if my choice was considered."_

" _ **Well that's a personal story that pains me far too much to speak about yet with anyone."**_

" _ **Simply put, money makes everyone a prized tool for the sake of one's selfishness, and your choice is never valued in manipulation."**_

" _Second, my home was full of that principle."_

" _I thought about my neighbors being oppressed by it."_

" _Third, a professor told me I could fix my home if I join him. While I can't tell you where I learned Fusion Summoning, I'll tell you why I used it and who taught it."_

" _ **Lives of others would be protected so who was I to refuse such an alliance?"**_

" _ **My life was given to him, but there are days where I wonder if my choice is being disregarded and manipulated."**_

" _ **Still all I could think was, "Does it matter so long as others are being helped? Who really cares about my choice?"**_

" _Fourth, I thought my relationship with Yuzu would be the same."_

" _She would disregard me once she was done learning Fusion Summoning."_

" _Yet she cared deeply about me."_

" _ **She worried over my idea of people disreguarded for one's well intended motive."**_

" _ **I told her if she left me, I wouldn't be a worthless burden that made her worry."**_

" _ **It was the image of me not wanting to see the crying faces of my parents and neighbors along with the look of disappointment on the Professor's face as if they wouldn't be of beneficial help to me that strengthened me into "something" useful, serving their every will that flashed through my mind when I saw Yuzu's worried expression."**_

" _It isn't your fault," I thought._

" _It's mine."_

" _Yuzu wanted me to serve her will of feeling happy and like I'm a worthy capable person,_ _ **but I couldn't."**_

" _ **I got irritated."**_

" _ **I can't masquerade for you something I'm not."**_

" _I can't act like I'm a happy child of happy parents just to hide suspicion of them when I'm not that!"_

" _I can't act like this blue jacket..this award from the Professor..signifies I'm a_ _ **high-ranking**_ _student of Fusion Summoning, capable, worthy, and happy when I'm angry, afraid, and depressed because of how I achieved this at_ _ **such a low cost!"**_

" _I can't act like I enjoyed my friendship with you and her when I'm not supposed to be close with anyone when everyone is my enemy!"_

" _ **And that's what frustrates me most."**_

" _ **Why can't I pretend to adore the unreal?"**_

" _When I appeared at your school believe me when I say I wasn't stalking you."_

" _I've never been to a public school like a normal kid due to strenuous circumstances so I wanted that piece of my childhood back but..you can tell my act of public school seeming normal to me was clearly false by how blatantly amazed I was by everything there."_

" _I watched your duel with Sawatari, wondering how I could save your friends off that tower deciding I'd get an adult but you saved them before I could."_

" _ **I think..you have every right to be suspicious of me for watching your duel in secret and not hiding that. Those guys were "uncool all along." Smooth move, Sora."**_

" _ **I desire both Yuzu and you to feel that way."**_

" _ **It won't feel like..I'm taking advantage of you if you mistrust me instead of being unaware."**_

" _But I'm suppose to be_ " _ **acting"**_ _like someone good not..not let genuineness sway me into its arms of security."_

" _Yet I let my undesirable qualities show at the front."_

" _ **I stop acting childish and happy revealing my bitterness of revealing my.."**_

 _Sora lifted his palm to his forehead feeling pain from his confused thoughts._

" _Right before I taught Yuzu Fusion Summoning I thought,_ " _ **I'm too kind for my own good."**_

 _Sora could still remember his conversations he had with her while teaching her._

" _To be honest Yuzu I'm not supposed to be teaching someone not from my home town Fusion Summoning. I could get in trouble for doing so."_

" _In..trouble!? Even so..you taught me despite that. You're very selfless and kind, Sora."_

" _You also don't hide how uncomfortable you might feel._ _ **You're so sincere. Always bravely confronting flaws, never hiding and running away from them."**_

 _Sora looked away from her and stated,_ " _ **I hate that about myself,"**_ _surprising Yuzu._

" _Why would.."_

" _It's just like what Reiji said!_ _ **Kindness has no place in a battlefield!"**_

" _What was I thinking? Revealing I understood the idea of different dimensions in Reiji's deck or blatantly saying I don't learn Fusion summoning from around here, raising suspicion of me."_

" _ **But I want that."**_

" _ **I want no one to trust me instead of pretending to be in a relationship that was never there."**_

" _ **And yet.."**_

" _ **It reflects the opposite, doesn't it? That I trust you and Yuya if I could reveal so much."**_

" _What's wrong with that, Sora?," Yuzu asked softly._

" _..Easy, Yuzu," Sora stated, looking at her with piercing eyes._

" _ **I have a bad habit of involving people in what will hurt them so I should just push them away."**_

 _Sora then smiled gently at her saying, "Still..it's nice that you respect my genuineness instead of taking advantage of it, offering me a relationship built off of trust."_

" _Telling me that if I was left, it wasn't that I was a useless burden but that I was too good to be carried in one's life."_

" _Unlike other relationships where my perspective of being a worthless burden was agreed to, you disagreed with me."_

" _For once I thought it wasn't my fault, but the fault of the ones who done the actual harm of abandoning me in the relationship."_

" _I needed someone to understand that I just want someone who will stay beside me loyally unconditionally even when my flaws were shown."_

" _ **You did that Yuzu."**_

 _Sora realizing Yuya was still listening to what else he had to say stated,_ " _ **But my quality of not being able to abandon someone isn't always good."**_

" _ **I struggle in relationships thinking there is good in someone there really isn't, letting my kindness be taken advantage of."**_

" _ **I thought Yuzu would do the same. Discard me after learning Fusion Summoning."**_

" _ **I struggle with trust, but..Yuzu respected my choice of growing close to anyone, being patient with me for when I wanted a relationship, feeling ready."**_

" _ **Even if she says I'm the patient one for staying beside her despite her lack of attention during lessons, it really is the other way around."**_

" _ **I only want..to make it up to her."**_

Yuya sighed before saying, " **Perhaps..I need to be more honest with my feelings."**

" **Stop lying to myself and avoiding how I really feel in my heart for you."**

This was a struggle on Yuya.

" **The truth is.."**

" **The truth is.."**

" **I..the way your heart races around Sora is..the same as how my heart races around you, Yuzu."**

"I know..your heart used to feel the way it does for Sora for me. I don't know if it still feels this way, and you're caught between making a choice, but..I had to let you know my feelings."

"Before..so many times when people paired us romantically together, I'd deny having feelings for you and I know you were disappointed because you were in love with me."

" **I should of expressed myself better."**

" **The truth is...I am in love with you, Yuzu."**

Yuzu's azure eyes widened upon hearing that but she was even less prepared for his next words.

" **I fell in love with your kind-hearted nature and the strength of your morality."**

" **Even if I tried to hide my feelings because after my father's disappearance I was afraid of growing close to anyone and losing them and you..were sweetly thoughtful and considerate of that, patient to me for when I'd feel ready to enter a relationship respectfully taking my choice into account, I couldn't suppress my feelings."**

" **Sora is right about you being patient with someone despite their fear of growing close to anyone. You've done it with both him and me.:**

"You..when you denied my romantic feelings for you, you denied yours for me as well."

"You thought..acting disinterested in a relationship with me would make me feel better because I felt safest with not being close in a relationship."

"But..I'm tired of running away, Yuzu. I'm tired of finding a way to be abandoned and to abandon someone. You're loyal, Yuzu. Don't tell me you're forcing a facade like me of disinterest Yuzu when you were always sincere!"

" **Don't..give up on me."**

Yuya's response reminded Yuzu of a conversation Sora with her recently.

" _Usually..you're sincere, Yuzu."_

" _That's what I like about you."_

" _But..like any human, there are times where you lie."_

" _Where you're insincere."_

" _Like when Yuya asked you during class if were alright after encountering the XYZ user when you were going to duel Sawatari, you lied by saying you were fine and smiling."_

" _ **I've never known you to force a smile or lie."**_

" _ **You're the one who always encouraged me to not do that."**_

" _ **Now...I want to return the favor and remind you to be honest with your feelings like you did for me."**_

" _After your duel with Masumi, you lied to Yuya again, saying you were fine."_

" _ **You force a smile sometimes to not worry anyone, selflessly putting others before yourself, biting off more than you can chew, lying that you can handle it."**_

" _ **You don't usually have a negative motive for your lies, but that doesn't make it right either."**_

" _ **You're hurting yourself. When others think you're ok, you're actually hurt, having nightmares about the XYZ user."**_

" _ **But..I'm here to share your pain and bring back your sincere smile. I never knew you to be the one to give up your strong sense of self. That's admirable of you. I just want to be around the true Yuzu I know and enjoy being around. Don't give up on me."**_

 **Sora saw that she was pushing others away by not talking about her worries to anyone to not worry them yet always tried his best to make her happy. It made Yuzu's heart race for reasons she tried her hardest to understand.**

 **Love.**

 **That was a possibility.**

 **But..she's never felt it so deep like this.**

 **All Sora wants to do is make a choice that supports her, along with helping Yuya.**

 **Yuya though..there were times where he was selfish, his choice dependent on his own needs.**

" **Yuya is..," Yuzu thought wondering where to begin with him.**

" **This is what it takes for Yuya to be honest about his romantic feelings for me."**

" **I should feel happy that the man I love finally admits that he loves me and yet.."**

 **Yuzu clenched her fists in anger saying, "The cost of this happening was jealousy."**

"Yuya doesn't want to lose me because he values me. He's comparing himself to Sora trying to see what makes him better but..I think why I'm angry is because this is all in the view of a competition."

"He was willing to shoot down my romantic interest in Sora by asking me why I stood for a relationship with him."

"He was listing off reasons for why he was a better choice of my romantic feelings as to make not romantically consider Sora."

"He's just..being forceful."

"Or..maybe he doesn't view it as force, because he believes I still love him in the midst of me trying to sort out my feelings for Sora."

"Maybe he thinks what he's doing is in consent of my romantic feelings for him."

"I'm confused."

"With Sora, he was aware of my romantic feelings for Yuya yet.."

" **If the new feelings I am having around Sora are that of love and he feels the same way that's..that's all I want."**

" **Even when I was in love with Yuya before, Sora supported my romance with him being respectful of my choice, never forcefully telling me why I should choose him and why he was a better choice for my romantic feelings despite his feelings for me."**

" **Sora did not shoot down Yuya or me for having romantic feelings for eachother but was supportive."**

" **Most of all..Sora didn't view Yuya as a competitor but..a friend."**

" **It's like what Sora says."**

" **I don't view matters in the ways of competition, jealousy, egotism, and pride."**

" **Sora from the way he's been treating me doesn't either."**

"But Yuya.."

"Yuya doesn't want to acknowledge my feelings for Sora."

"He's acting like..loving him shouldn't be a choice."

"LIke I don't have a choice of my desires!"

"That makes me mad."

" **That makes me extremely mad because I do and Sora understood that."**

" **He understood that he couldn't force himself upon me and he understood being respectfully considerate of my choice."**

"Yuya is afraid of losing me and I want to be there with him."

"I do!"

"I'd never refuse being of assistance to someone."

"All I want is to be of help."

"But.."

"He shouldn't be selfish."

"He should acknowledge I have a say on who I have feelings for!"

"That I have a choice!"

" **That the matters on the relationship between Sora, him, and I are not a competition where were all objects adhering to the force of another but have a say on what we want!"**

" **And if I am in love with Sora, Yuya should be respectful of that, not stopping me from being so!"**

" **I am questioning my feelings for Sora and Yuya."**

" **The feelings I have for Sora are the strongest I've ever felt for anyone."**

" **They're ones..I've never felt before."**

" **I didn't feel this strongly around Yuya."**

" **The feelings of love..were short-lived for Yuya as opposed to Sora who made me linger on them."**

"I'm frustrated because all I want to ask is,"Don't I have a choice on my feelings for Sora?"

"Yuya, you can't have me romantically if you're making me wonder if you really love me by not respecting my choices!"

" **With Sora, I in no way doubted he loved me because he was respectful of my choices, considerate of me always!"**

" **That's why I...that's why I.."**

" **That's why I love Sora."**

 **Realization hit Yuzu hard.**

 **She loved Sora.**

In that moment of realization though, Yuya did the unexpected.

Not wanting to lose the one he loved so deeply and feeling himself lost in a frenzy of racing heartbeats as he gazed upon Yuzu whose azure eyes stared back at him in confusion and pink pigtails flowed in the gentle breeze as the warm sunset spread across the sky, desires began to take over Yuya.

Perhaps it was the way the sunlight shined upon her which was a fitting metaphor for the symbolic hope Yuya considered her to be in his life and didn't want to let go of or perhaps it was him being tired of hiding behind walls of denial for his romantic feelings for her her.

No more would he lie and be cold, being always so very careful in entering a relationship with her because he was afraid to lose her.

He would not be distant when he wanted to feel her warmth and be close to her.

She had always been loyal to him when he was afraid of growing closer in a relationship, boldly trusting him. He admired that about her and he wanted to return the favor.

This time..he would. He would show her how much she meant to him.

She waited for him because he was worth it to her. Yuzu was always kind with her gentle patience. Yuya wouldn't keep her waiting anymore.

In that moment, Yuya's lips were gently pressed upon Yuzu's lips, her eyes widening once again, her thoughts thrown into confusion.

Her heart..was softly kind around Yuya.

She understood the longing urgency in his kiss.

He was afraid to lose her.

He wanted and needed her by his side.

Yuya was someone that may have distantly denied his romantic feelings for her but she knew that was because he was afraid of having a relationship of any kind when he had lost his father.

He didn't want to get close to anyone, afraid to lose them.

Yuzu understood that wanting to be respectful of his choices and always be understanding.

Yuzu wanted to help mend his fears and tell him..she trusted him and would be loyal to him.

There was a kindness in her that would stop even if Yuya's distance hadn't made him deserving of it. She was always like that.

A person may not be deserving of kindness, but still she would show them it anyway.

There was turmoil in her heart of what to do to help him.

The feelings she had for Yuya romantically were still there, contrary to what she believed.

She gently kissed him back, but her thoughts were scattered.

Because while she should be happy that Yuya, the man she had loved for so long was returning her feelings an image came back to her. Multiple images.

Sora. Sora and his gentle smile. Sora and daily nights he spent wrapping his arms around her as she had nightmares over the XYZ user, sleeping beside her, comforting her. Sora and the way he was considerate. He was **always** telling her not to overwork herself. He was **always** patient with her during lessons! He **always** bought her cards to improve her deck! **He cared about her. She loved him."**

All she could think was Sora's lips pressed on hers.

Yuya's kiss was..gentle and kind while Sora seemed a bit rougher and more passionate.

When Sora kissed her she felt no distance but an urge to stay close to her because..she was someone he trusted.

Enough to give her Fusion Summoning, something he would be punished for but she vowed to keep it secret to not have that.

 **With Sora, she felt closer. Like he trusted her to stay by his side and not disappear. She was the one who promised to bring him back when he disappeared.**

 **He told her to "Go ahead and try," not discouraging her from growing close to him.**

" **I'll bring both Yuya and you to a safe place when I return to my home," showing his loyalty and that he would not forsake a bond.**

 **Sora knew Yuzu would try to stay with him unconditionally. Sora would always come back, not wanting distance. That's because..Sora treated his relationships with trust not distance. That is something Yuzu did as well. Sora wasn't as distant as he claimed he was.**

In the midst of her conflicted emotions, she stopped Yuya by pressing her hand against his chest, pushing him away from her.

Yuya showed a confused expression, his lips trembling as he struggled to catch his breath, wondering why she had stopped him.

"S-Sorry," Yuya stammered out.

"I..I suppose I lost control there."

"I didn't mean to be..rough if I was, Yuzu."

"That isn't why I stopped you," Yuzu stated firmly. She paused before exhaling.

" **Why? Why now, Yuya?"**

What she was asking for was oblivious.

Why was he **showing** interest in Yuzu **now?**

" **I just..I just didn't want to lose you to Sora."**

"That's what I'm mad about, Yuya!"

She was angry now at how conflicting her feelings were in this situation.

"I can understand your fear of losing someone precious and more than anything, I want to help."

"My feelings of love for you stemmed out of me taking in the way you always tried to entertain others even if inside depression claimed you and how above anything you fought for acceptance for both you and others regardless of judgement because you know how it feels to be left out, desiring both you and everyone to smile. **You wanted them to enjoy their lives, cherishing worth in their existences."**

" **To me, you were the star of your own show but what's most amazing to me about any star is that they care about not only themselves but their relationships with the audience as well. They care about having a relationship even if they seem off in a different world with their distance. They care about trying to be open in the darkest struggles that make them seem hidden away from everyone else and even if they're struggling with being close and open to anyone in a relationship all that matters is they're at least trying."**

" **It's true that you were shy, always just silently listening and whenever you did have to speak it took awhile for words to come out as you were quietly contemplative on what you wanted to say but I just admired that about you thinking you treated anything thoughtfully and with meaningfulness."**

" **All of this along with your will to be stronger, being someone people can rely on desiring to make yourself useful, were all reasons I fell in love with you."**

"Out of these feelings of love, more than anything, I wanted to help you when you forced a smile hiding away your depression and never being so **close** to anyone as to reveal your inner doubts **because you were afraid the more you valued them, the more it would hurt when you lost them."**

" **So many times in my life I wanted to reassure you."**

" **I wanted to tell I'd always be loyally by your side and you wouldn't lose me. That I would stay was what I wanted you to believe, Yuya."**

" **All of that still rings clear."**

" **However.."**

" **I also am beginning to develop feelings for Sora."**

 **Yuya felt his heart drop at that confession.**

" **Intending to or not,** I don't appreciate your view of romantic feelings between Sora, you, and I as a competition."

"You're comparing yourself to Sora when listing off why you're a better choice for my romantic feelings and you're not understanding why I would stand for a relationship with him."

" **You're viewing your own friend as a competitor and me as an object to be won."**

"Sora...even if he had romantic feelings for me never gave me reasons for why he was a better choice of my feelings and was understanding of me standing for a relationship with you because he knew...I had a choice on how I felt romantically for someone and that he couldn't force himself upon me for his selfishness. **A relationship is about more than just one's wants. It's about mutual reciprocation of eachother's wants."**

" **You did the opposite of that, Yuya. You weren't being respectful on my choice of having feelings for Sora and were pushing it aside, forcing yourself upon me as if..as if I was just an object who had no choice but to obey your force regardless of me having a choice on who I have my romantic feelings for, and deserving to just like anyone else have that...respected."**

" **When an object is won from a competition, no one ever questions if it liked seeing people battle eachother, placing their worth on rankings of who's the better one. The one with the most force wins but what about the others included in the situation?"**

"Are they to be **thrown away** without a choice?"

"Just like the object was **given away** without a choice?"

" **Are they no different from the object themself?"**

"When you treated Sora as a competitor instead of your friend willing to toss aside his romantic feelings for me and your friendship with him over that even though he supported your romantic feelings for me wanting to be nothing more than a supportive friend **I wonder..if he was just an object for you to be tossed aside whose wants wouldn't matter so long as the selfish force of your wants were fulfilled."**

Yuzu's voice was quivering now.

" **Do you think I want that, Yuya?"**

" **Do you think because of me I want to see Sora and you stop being friends with how you're saying he isn't any good quality I call him because you can see he is but don't want to because you're in love with me, wanting me to love you, seeing Sora as a threat to that, needing to be thrown away for that?"**

" **For you to reject my feelings romantically for Sora instead of respecting my choice?"**

" **For you to realize there are some feelings of love for you Yuya in my heart but I'm still deciding in the midst of my new feelings for Sora who my heart really loves while you're forcing me to love you when I need patience on me discovering my feelings and not..force on me loving you?"**

" **Or does it even matter what others want in this situation to you?"**

" **I'm not saying all of us should ignore our feelings."**

" **That's what got us in this mess in the first place."**

" **All I'm saying is..I need time to think."**

" **Time to decide who I'm romantically interested in."**

" **I know that's alot to ask of you now."**

" **Patience when it comes to the answer of discovering what my feelings are for someone..is something hard to have for me and I imagine for the one whose feelings are already solidified, it's harder because they have to wait on the confused one, not as solidified."**

" **But..even if it is..I'll work harder to understand my feelings rescuing your uncertainty of if I'll ever understand my feelings and who I'm feeling them for with an answer!"**

" **That's a promise!"**

"That's why I'll..that's why I want you to.."

Her thoughts were in a frenzy.

" **I understand,"** Yuya interrupted in the midst of her frenzied state, smiling softly at Yuzu now, and surprising her.

" **I can wait loyally for an answer like you have waited loyally for mine."**

" **You have always...you have always loyally stayed beside me seeing me as someone worth it, despite my actions in the past."**

" **Now it's my turn to return the favor because...you're worth it."**

" **The way you're talking right now sounds like you're apologizing for keeping me waiting."**

" **Don't. That just means I need to be loyal, patiently waiting for your answer."**

" **If I'm a gift like you say I am, wrapped up in layers that make me a mystery to you, you just need to peel back those layers that are causing questions of how you feel about me to uncover hidden truths of why you do that will see if I'm the sender of your romantic feelings, and if you want to be the recipient of them."**

Yuya frowned, ashamed of himself, self-reflecting on his actions.

"Before I was forceful and..was willing to lose a friendship with Sora with my view of him as a competitor."

"That way in no way right of me and Sora for all the good qualities of consideration and supportiveness he is isn't a friend I want to lose."

"I deserved to respect both your choice and his choice not starting a competition where everything wouldn't matter so long as I won and my selfish desires were satiated."

" **I'm sorry."**

" **You know that you're a precious gift of existence to me, Yuzu."**

" **One whose choices of feelings matter in who they're sent to and who will receive them. I have no right..to ignore the messages of how you feel inside to overpower them with a bidding price of whose better to attain them in the midst of who you want to send them to."**

" **Do I have the right to call you a gift of happiness I want to keep smiling if I'm willing to take away the one who composed you into a gift of happiness with a beautiful smile?"**

" **It's not just about me."**

" **More than anything, I want you happy, Yuzu."**

" **And so..even if you are to love someone else, I will not take them away from you by using me as the better bidding price to have you when they're the one you made a choice to be with, send your feelings to, and to be the one to receive it."**

" **I'll respect your wishes, not getting in the way of the one who didn't need a bidding price for you as a gift of an existence like you flocks to one who has a trained eye of consideration to notice so much about who you are understanding you and caring about you enough to know the essence of who you are."**

" **Sora really is..close to you."**

" **Despite everything I want...I want to stay by your side."**

" **However..my actions will speak louder than worded apology."**

" **I'll be sure of that."**

Yuzu smiled, her heart calm upon his apology as she stated, " **I know you will."**

 **Yuya could be selfish but that wasn't all to his character. He had compassion for others. Like any human, he had his flaws and strengths in his relationships but he tried his best.**

" **I really do need to learn to be respectful of others wants not just mine,"** Yuya thought.

"Sora actually had a discussion about me for that."

" _I like your Entertainment Dueling and its idea of maintaining one's smile but..there are some dilemmas in it, Yuya."_

" _Dilemmas!? No way! My father's dueling focuses on making others happy_ _ **always**_ _and smiling when you feel sad. What's wrong with that, Sora!?"_

" _ **...It's idealistic."**_

" _Your idea of_ _ **always**_ _being happy can't exist and your idea of smiling when you're sad promotes fickleness of self and also an inability to be attentive to one's sadness when you need to be which makes you come off as apathetic if you can't acknowledge one's sadness by trying to sugarcoat it with forcing one to smile when they don't really feel happy. This forced smile also encourages running away from problems rather than confronting them."_

" _Recovery isn't easy but it works best to use patience when it comes to that not rushing it with force of how you don't feel inside._ _ **More importantly, people should be accepted for their real and their true emotions not for a forced persona they aren't."**_

" **There is strength in expressing one's sorrow, confronting it, rather than running away from it in a mask..in a forced smile. I think you're someone who wants to be like that so I commend you for trying to do just that."**

" **But..sometimes your dueling just feels too forced to say it's bringing about genuine** _ **relationships when it doesn't stem from the principle of genuinely expressing one's sorrows and still learning to love yourself in your flaws."**_

" _ **You have to step back and ask if the principles of your Entertainment Dueling are actually helping, Yuya."**_

" _ **You want the end result to be peace and a changed opponent."**_

" _When Reiji dueled you, you stuck to your father's entertainment dueling but...Reiji wasn't moved by you."_

" _ **Did you think the president of the LDS Corporation would decide to not buy your school even if logically it would aid him by increasing education of Pendulum Summoning, making others stronger, all because he would be taught smiles of happiness in the harsh world of others being sold as profit to benefit the powerful high standing of a ruler like Reiji?"**_

" _ **I agree with the methodology of buying a school instead of peacefully neogationating being wrong but I disagree with using Entertainment Dueling to counter that."**_

" _ **However I wonder…"**_

" _ **Reiji maybe thought of giving you a choice but also thought you were too stubborn to see his point of view."**_

" _Was sharing Pendulum Summoning wrong?"_

" _No. It's a new technique to expand dueling education and one's strengths."_

" _Yet..out of selfishness of wanting it to make you feel more unique from the rest, you kept it to yourself."_

" _ **You were close-minded to see the bigger view of other's necessities."**_

" _ **I won't agree with Reiji's methods of attaining Pendulum Summoning but it does make me wonder...when is force considered right?"**_

" _ **You know that Reiji is in charge of the military here too, right?"**_

" _ **Pendulum Summoning could of been a beneficial force for soldiers then. Well I guess it still is since Reiji learned how to mass produce it."**_

" _ **It's hard to get people involved in war and I know for sure you would never want to be involved in such a matter but..if not enough people are fighting, what's going to happen to one's town?"**_

" _ **Sometimes...people have no choice but to fight for their survival."**_

" _ **At least..that's what I taught. I thought someone who ruled like that cared about my life. They weren't going to leave me questioning if I should survive or not."**_

" _ **Yet..I don't know. I don't know when force is right to use."**_

" _ **There are times where I believe people should have a choice of whether they wish to serve in war or not but at the same time if they did what's it going to mean for them when they put themself at a risk for being hurt by not being properly trained for war?"**_

" _ **A bigger question that could be asked is why do we even have to fight yet an answer to that can't be achieved."**_

" _ **I have to admire pacifists like you Yuya and yet..there also times where I have to question them."**_

" _ **Maybe the real problem is..force doesn't mean what it's supposed to mean anymore."**_

" _ **It doesn't mean people willingly following you because you have the right authority. It means people taking orders regardless of whether they want to willingly do so."**_

" _ **Even those who considered themselves to be objects have the choice of whether they want to be pushed or not. It's all about action and reaction then. You push yourself on that object and they push back on that object. Some objects stay inert, not being pushed by you, but then...they don't know what to do having been used to being guided and controlled by someone. They don't do anything unless that someone gives them a purpose to live for. It's like they struggle with living for themself."**_

" _ **...It would be nice then if humans weren't objects."**_

" _ **You know what? I don't even know why I'm even considering this."**_

" _ **Maybe it's because of what my deck is composed of. My deck is composed of tools and the whole reason I liked tools was because they were what were used to build a safe home of hope yet..the meaning of tools can be altered. Once their purpose is done and they're no longer used, they are only discarded. They're just manipulated. Who knows what they're supposed to be anymore?"**_

" _ **Humans are complicated. You can disassemble an object, not caring about it being gone, replacing it with a new one. With humans, if you disassemble what made them who they are which is...the life of having their own choice..everything falls apart, and you can't simply replace one human life gone with another's human life. No life lost is replaceable when they were full of so much value. It's pretty obvious then that humans aren't objects and that their choices and their lives are too valuable to be discarded."**_

" _ **But...even if this is true, they're not treated the way they should be, are they?"**_

" _ **Reiji and you aren't really different."**_

" _ **Reiji to get Pendulum Summoning for soldiers used force on You Show Duel School all because you resisted to agree and yet if he hadn't used force what would of happened to other lives who needed new strategies in the form of new summoning methods at their disposal?"**_

" _ **I keep thinking while I don't like what was done, force was necessary because you weren't helping."**_

" _ **You use force on others when you strain them to force a smile when they're really sad not happy all just so you can be the only one surviving with Pendulum Summoning being only in your possession."**_

" _ **Reiji and you are both forceful people."**_

" _ **It seems force is always needed for survival."**_

" _ **I would like to be a pacifist like you, Yuya, achieving peace and no wars."**_

" _ **But the sad reality is people will have to fight."**_

" _ **If they don't, they won't live."**_

" _ **Do you want that?"**_

" _ **...But who knows? Maybe there is a place where we can acquire freedom not force and where we end fighting. Peace is needed but the only way to attain that is not in forcing ourselves upon others like Reiji did with using You Show Duel School as a bargaining chip for Pendulum Summoning without regards to your choice and everyone attending there choices and not in forcing others to take a false hope in not confronting one's problems living on in smiling like everything is fine when the reality isn't and they could be changing that by confronting that."**_

" _ **The only way for peace to be achieved is by making everyone understand the inhumaneness in no one's choice being considered when they should be and by making everyone express sorrow about rights neglected, actually caring about the noble cause of rights being supported."**_

" _ **They can't be done if were regarding people's choices like Reiji was doing by forcing himself on others and it can't be done if you're encouraging others to live in a sugar coated reality by smiling when they're really sad showing forced emotions not natural humaneness!"**_

 _ **As if on cue the lollipop in Sora's mouth had dropped as he shouted, "I get tired of living in a sugar-coated reality!", leaving Yuya's eyes to widen at his outburst.**_

 _ **The lollipop thats round shape reflected a world of sweetness had reduced to a smaller size of the world it once was now close to being killed only to forward the point of how wrong laying on a coat of sugar on what wasn't really there to escape harsh reality instead of facing it only worsened matters. Sugar coated lies aren't something easy to digest. Each moment you take them in slowly only kills off both your sense of self and truth till its shriveled up in doubts and uncertainty.**_

" _ **..I guess you could say I was like you, Yuya."**_

" _ **Smiling when I felt sad. Acting like a child when I clearly don't come from a place that nurtured a childhood."**_

" _ **I related to how you smiled when you felt sad but I think you and I both don't want this."**_

" _ **I think both you and I don't want to keep lying that everything is fine when it isn't."**_

 _ **The lollipop that was supposed to be a world protected that Sora fought for was only a world devoured and sucked up into a smaller state of what it should of been.**_

" _ **..I..didn't know you felt that way. That you were..so much like me," Yuya confessed, overwhelmed by the wave of emotions deep within Sora.**_

" _ **You always seemed like..a happy kid who wanted sweets with the occasional bitter side of you that insulted others and doubting side of yourself when you weren't sure if you were really deserving of friendly outings or to do anything friendly shown to Yuzu, Tatsuya, Ayu, Futoshi, and I when we invited you to come along with us. I liked your enthusiasm, but..I was curious about why all of that sometimes disappeared into just bitterness and doubt that should of seemed like emotions so foreign to you."**_

" _ **I realized there was some sense of depression inside of you and maybe I even stayed beside you for that reason thinking you were forcing a smile like me. I wanted to believe that wasn't true though. I always thought of you as someone who was naturally more happy and excited more than me. I even used to be jealous of how happy you were as a person. I was jealous of how carefree you could be not even worrying about whether you would win or lose to your opponents."**_

" _ **I guess I let my jealousy blind me from seeing you struggle just like anyone else and from being empathetic to you."**_

" _ **...I'm sorry."**_

" _ **...I'm sorry too," Sora confessed, which perplexed Yuya because what could he be sorry for?**_

" _ **I didn't think of you as anyone struggling either. I couldn't help but think of you as someone noble compared to someone like me who was not of good character. You were someone so kind, always telling me off for when I bitterly insulted opponents and you were full of justice, and I was jealous, blinded to see anything wrong with you."**_

" _ **...It's funny how we're only now beginning to see eachother's true selves."**_

" _ **You were always jealous of me seeing me as a happy carefree kid with too much enthusiasm and energy on my hands, and I was always jealous of you for being so noble and kind."**_

" _ **The reality is we were both struggling with the sadness of living under the mask of happiness we weren't really."**_

" _ **We both thought we saw eachother's real selves when we really didn't, and only now are we beginning to realize who are real selves are."**_

" _ **Well..I guess there's always starting over, isn't there?"**_

 _ **Yuya smiled saying, "Of course. I'm always up for learning how to start over. You're right about me needing to be more honest with myself and you care enough to tell me that."**_

 _ **Sora smiled back saying, "Alright. Then let's do just that."**_

 _The smile between the two friends lasted before Sora frowned, deciding to ask what had been on his mind._

" _...Yuya, what exactly do you think in matters resolving a battle with a ruler like Reiji?"_

" _...What brought that up?," Yuya asked but Sora only stated, "Please just answer my question."_

 _He said it with such urgency that left Yuya worried._

" _Hypothetically, let's say a dear friend of yours was taken away in the storm of a battle he was involved with indirectly."_

" _The question posed then is what if this battle was disguised as a royale in a tournament where you were unaware innocent lives were being hurt as a test to see if they were strong enough to qualify for the military?"_

" _If he tried to peacefully tell civilians to join the military but not many would believe in the idea of a dimension..an alternate world..being something real so he had no choice but to use force on receiving soldiers, would he be right?"_

" _His disguising the attack from another..place as the royale to avoid civilians panicking in war is..right or wrong?"_

" _Let's say you were one of the people who was a candidate for joining the military."_

" _You disagreed."_

" _Out of what reasons though?"_

" _Wanting peace and not to fight, correct?"_

" _Lives being thrown as puppets, deserving to be cared about is yet another reason you would be angry."_

" _ **Or because..you were mad having to work with the one who caused the disappearance of your dear friend."**_

" _ **Why is he asking me questions like this?," Yuya thought.**_

 _ **Still it was just a hypothetical situation. Nothing to be too heavily thought upon but loosely considered, right? At least in Yuya's mind.**_

" _ **..The idea of having to be in war is..horrifying," Yuya began.**_

" _ **Even if peacefully Reiji asked for that, I'd refuse."**_

" _ **People shouldn't be fighting."**_

" _ **I'd be infuriated over lives lost."**_

" _ **In fact…"**_

 _ **There was a rage upon Yuya's face that Sora had never seen, unsettling him as he said, "I would make him grovel beneath me for that."**_

 _ **Sora had never...seen that side of Yuya.**_

" _ **You..contradict yourself a lot, Yuya."**_

" _ **Do I? How so?"**_

" _ **You..claim you want to support others and then turn selfish sometimes."**_

" _ **You..rely on peace and happiness and then turn into pride, comparing others as lower, not sharing Pendulum Summoning."**_

" _ **Just like right now. I was sure I would see the kindness of you trying to change Reiji peacefully telling him of equality instead of..revenge and lowering him to groveling beneath your highness."**_

" _ **You act happy when you're sad."**_

" _ **I guess what I really mean is..who are you Yuya?"**_

" _ **Sometimes I feel like...you're like Reiji."**_

" _ **Hiding behind a stoic frown instead of showing sadness like you hide sadness with a smile."**_

" _ **I know he's more than cold and unfeeling than he portrays saying kindness doesn't belong on a battlefield when he admired your father's dueling that touched hearts, making them feel light."**_

" _ **He gives speeches to the public of equality but then having times where his actions seem selfish seeing everyone as tools to be attained by force and seeming like..he would harbor revenge. Like him, there are times you can be selfish."**_

" _ **Calling you admirably kind but then beneath him as naive for kindness not being able to exist in a battlefield and seeing himself as superior to not go all out against you...when you weren't either. You were forcing Entertainment Dueling hesitating on attacking like he said. Just..who are you and Reiji really?"**_

Yuya didn't really know, but..who he wanted to be was someone who wasn't forceful but respectful.

Not forcing a smile, disrespecting his real self and others if he couldn't show a real smile to them, trusting them.

Someone who was patient and gentle.

Someone who showed himself and others were worth it.

He wanted Sora to know that and for Yuzu to know how much worth she was to him, and he was going to start by waiting for her since she was worth the wait.

Between her feelings for Sora and Yuya, Yuzu pondered what choice she would make in the turmoil of her heart.

Author's Note: Whew, that was a heavy chapter, but I feel as though it really developed the mentalities of Sora, Yuzu, and Yuya, along with developing their bonds with eachother. Yuzu obviously wouldn't want Sora and Yuya to stop being friends because they were fighting romantically over her. Sora wouldn't want to lose Yuya as a friend either and is selfless enough to support his romantic relationship with Yuzu even if he wants her romantically loving her enough to respect her choices. Yuya also deep down wouldn't want to lose his friendship with Yuya but I want all of Sora, Yuzu, and Yuya to be portrayed realistically. The jealousy in both Sora and Yuya and in regards to how this impacts their involvement with Yuzu and their bond with eachother and her feelings all needed to be addressed. Also, this gave us more insight on Yuya's character and well on a side note Reiji because I think those 2 characters have far too many interesting parallels to delve into. Now Sora's selflessness may come like a very strange quality to think about. He understands Yuzu because he is like her. This is something I want to further expand upon. Thank you for reading! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Let's further elaborate on why Yuzu even likes Sora romantically while furthering development on the bond between Sora, Yuzu, and Yuya. This chapter is incredibly lengthy but chalk full of necessary development before I moved the plot further along.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V.

Sora helped Yuzu more times than he even realized.

Many cold nights she would be held in his arms sleeping with him to keep warm and feeling his warm embrace shelter her when she had nightmares over her mother's death and how her not seeing the XYZ user's real face before he disappeared reminded her of how she couldn't see her mother's real face before her death.

All Yuzu had on her mind was doubt and all that was in her heart was sorrow.

Many days, Yuzu had tried to help Yuya as much as she could, but Yuya would always reject her help saying he was fine and that she didn't have to help. He would apologize afterwards realizing how harsh he sounded when all she was trying to do was help him reach for something or even extend her hand out when he had fallen from being beaten by her on their daily practice matches.

It didn't help when he expressed jealousy over her qualifying for Miami Championship either.

"It's just like you to qualify for the Miami Championship," Yuya would say, pouting at how far ahead Yuzu was of him, and having anger in his eyes that he was trying not to convey.

He would of course show a smile afterwards and say, "I really gotta catch up to you, Yuzu. You're just too strong for me."

He wasn't stating it out of respect.

At least..while some may interpret it as that, Yuzu didn't.

He lifted her on a pedestal of strength that was unreachable and distant if he felt like he had to run to catch up to her even though she wanted to be close to him and right beside him.

Him also not accepting her help because he felt like he wasn't deserving of it and he also feeling weak making her into a high pedestal of strength made it hard for her to reach down to help someone who felt lower when all she wanted to do was help.

That was when his words like, " **Crude strong woman,"** came up in her mind.

She knew that it could be argued that Yuya's use of crude and strong was both negative and positive qualities showing his clashing emotions inside of himself when it came to her, and that one part of him positively respected her, and other part of him negatively struggled with conveying that yet Yuzu couldn't see any positive respect in his comment **even though she tried to.**

 **This was a comment made out of jealousy.**

 **Yuya had times where he felt like he was weak, even though he wasn't.**

 **Then..in pride, he wouldn't share Pendulum Summoning thinking that it was the only proof in his uniqueness of worth if no one else had it.**

 **He was hesitant about showing it to Sawatari, sharing it with Sora, and did not want Reiji mass producing it.**

 **Yuya while he tried his best to entertain others and admired his father's selflessness and happy nature in only considering the cheeriness of his audience, he differed greatly from his father. He had a streak of selfishness and pessimism. He was also shy and not close with others like his father was.**

 **But..she admired how Yuya tried. He wanted to care about others. He wanted to be close with others. He just didn't know how to convey that.**

 **Even so..Yuzu's heart still hurt at the jealousy strength produces because..it makes it seem like the person jealous of her just couldn't even realize their own strength when they should.**

 **Yuzu wanted someone who wasn't jealous of strength but encouraged it.**

 **Sora..was exactly that.**

Sora did not become jealous when Yuya had first told him Pendulum Summoning couldn't be performed by him. He was more than happy to see just Yuya perform that. Not only that but he wasn't jealous of what made Yuya different..,(his Pendulum Summoning), like others had been but completely respectful of him. Sora wasn't jealous of strength but uplifting of it, and he also believed in his worth, so what was the point in being jealous of it? That's why she had stared at him in awe when he was requesting a duel from Yuya, and even wanting to duel him.

Yuzu was used to people rejecting her duels saying she was strong so they would only lose, degrading their worth, and she was used to them also being jealous of her strength, but..if she were to duel Sora, he would believe in his worth and her worth as well.

When Yuya tried searching for opponents for qualifying to Miami Championship, he received only rejection because many thought he was too strong with Pendulum Summoning and they would only be weak so what was the point? She was going to say she knew what it was like and sympathized with him but before she could Yuya commented, "It must of been really easy for you to find opponents Yuzu if you're qualified."

Yuzu frowned. It wasn't. It wasn't at all. She had to go to many different places just for them, but she smiled anyway deciding not to talk about that and not let that get her down saying, "I'm sure you'll find an opponent, Yuya. I believe in you."

Still her mind drifted off to Sora again.

He seemed interesting. She really wanted to talk with him.

She had liked him so much that she had used to call him, "Sora-kun", when they were beginning to become closer with eachother which Yuya noticed.

"You treat him as if you two have been close forever."

"..He's a lot of energy to be around."

"Still..I wonder about him."

"He rarely talks about his home because it's an uncomfortable topic which concerns me, and he acts rather strangely at our school, Yuzu. **Like he's never seen normal everyday parts of it.** "

"He gets incredibly fascinated over the simplest things."

"He starts to look around excitedly over the classroom, he cheers for us with pom poms when were working out during gym, and he even makes a big deal out of eating lunch or stating that the restrooms are cleaner than he thought they would be from reading previous descriptions about them! Why would he read about that is a question I don't even want to know the answer to!"

"He has no social skills whatsoever but **..** the only reason he was looking over my stall today was because he was going to warn me that the one I went to wasn't working only realizing how awkward and invasive of my space he was being shortly afterwards, apologizing. The only reason he was reaching his hand under my desk today was to give me back a pencil I apparently dropped once again realizing how awkward and invasive he was being, apologizing yet again. **At least he apologized, realizing his behavior despite..clearly having no social skills."**

" **He did say he was curious about what public schooling for a normal kid was like as he never got to attend due to strenuous circumstances that he refuses to go into."**

" **Still..what kind of life did he have that took away that fundamental aspect of everyday life?"**

"I thought he was just stalking me but what he's told me and the way his behavior is..really makes me believe he doesn't do that. I'm actually starting to believe it was just a coincidence that the public schooling he decided to explore today just so happened to be mine and that he didn't know You Show Duel School was another school I attended."

"When I had asked him at You Show Duel School if he had been following me all the way from school, I was skeptical of his no just because of his response."

" _I wasn't following you Yuya! I mean..it's true that I may have watched how your classroom operated from up in a tree but.."_

" _ **So you were stalking and watching me**_ _," Yuya said, his tone rising in frustration at the boy._

" _Wait, you didn't let me explain! I just wanted to see what it was like to be in a classroom for normal students_ _ **for just a brief glimpse! I realized how invasive my actions may have seemed so I decided that I had to explore other dueling schools after not wanting to qualify for LDS!"**_

 _ **Sora's evergreen eyes soon showed a layer of dark seriousness as he said, "I know I struggle with it especially since I have been treated with no regards to the privacy of my mind and personal life along with thoughts, but..I do at the very least try to not stray into unhealthy habits of imitating such invasiveness."**_

" _ **One's personal wants and rights inside the mind to consent to sharing their life should be respected not forced out of them."**_

" _ **..But Academia doesn't know that," Sora thought irritation bleeding through his gaze now.**_

" _ **They mistrust you every second, even having a device that can invade one's mind and personal thoughts to see if you're having thoughts of betraying them."**_

 _ **Sora shivered as a flash of masked doctors in a room of white walls and hospital sheets holding him down on a bed as he kicked and screamed as they closed in on him with a scalpel stating montonely over and over, "It's for your own good. It's for your own good."**_

" _ **They have absolutely no respect to the privacy of mind and personal wants," Sora thought, tightening his fist in fury.**_

 _ **His fury soon was washed down as sorrow pushed into his existence overwhelming him till he thought, "Then again..I'm just a coward who's worst for even agreeing that their force and invasiveness was right. For thinking even if my privacy of mind had the right to not be invaded, there are no rights to one's privacy as a human being even if there should be. Academia taught me if you're victimized, you're in the wrong. Force is meant to discipline you for being so weak."**_

 _ **Sora's fist loosened as he thought grimly and with fear welling up in his mind, "And they're right," as thoughts of running during training sessions afraid he wouldn't survive falling debris, not being able to save a member of Academia and rush to their side in time, a member of Academia sacrificing their life to protect him, the Professor saying he had mercy on Sora for not leaving him dead still believing he could be stronger and screaming that he was wrong for caring about friends in battle when it put him at risk of being carded along with them being carded for his sake, and anxious heartbeats soon to leave him collapsing on the ground in a wave of screams from carded victims all around him had ran through his mind.**_

 _ **He needed to be stronger.**_

 _ **Yuya stared at Sora wondering what he meant by he dealt with invasiveness but tried not to be so. His eyes had looked so..scared, angry, and sad when he had said so.**_

 _ **However...it seemed that Sora did try his best to not be invasive.**_

" _How would I know that!?," Yuya inquired still not quite trusting of the boy._

" _How long were you watching my duel with Sawatari enough to develop an opinion that it was uncool all along!?"_

" _I came to qualify for LDS and went to where you were dueling with Sawatari because students could study duels before taking an entrance exam to get into LDS for developing strategies!," Sora shouted back. "I was however going to call an adult and get help for your friends on the tower but before I could your Magicans had already saved them!"_

" _Of course you did and of course you were," Yuya sarcastically agreed to his explanation._

 **Now however Yuya wasn't doubting Sora. Maybe it was because he genuinely seemed to respect him for not just his Pendulum Summoning. Maybe it was because he was lively and exciting. Maybe it was because he just wanted to be his friend and was even willing to put up with Yuya's distant behavior, but..he didn't seem like someone to stalk him. He...actually trusted him.**

 **Especially with the way he treated Yuzu.**

 **He even seemed highly agitated and anxious in reference to someone mistreating Yuzu.**

 **Yuya could tell by his scowl.**

" _What's wrong, Sora?"_

 _If there was one word to describe Sora it was bluntness._

" _ **Someone is stalking Yuzu."**_

 _Yuya blinked, processing what he said before asking, "What?"_

" _I said.."_

" _I know what you said, but I couldn't properly register something like someone stalking her that quickly!"_

 _Sora kept his scowl, his mind deep in contemplation before saying, "Everywhere I go that XYZ user is around every corner. I can sense his presence, and when I try to get such a stalker away from Yuzu, he's back again!"_

" _Of course Yuzu is trusting of this XYZ user. He had apparently been trying to protect her. I told her not to be too trusting as she had described this man summoning a knight who threw a pole that went through Sawatari's jacket, and that clearly with that close of an aim could of caused severe damage had he not been careful."_

" _ **Still..I'm getting really irritated by how he keeps stalking her."**_

" _ **So if you're wondering why Yuzu and I have been in places hard to find while you look to tell her that her father wants her to come back to You Show Duel School it's for that reason."**_

" _You're really..sure about this? That she's being stalked, I mean?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Shouldn't we call an authoritative figure then?"_

" _LDS is already trying to catch XYZ users for making Fusion users disappear as were speaking so something like that is already handled in the case of needing authoritative figures for such invasiveness dealt towards Yuzu and..I was planning to go into LDS for how it handled crimes like this as students there want to be police officers that resolve matters such as this so.._ _ **I'm trained to deal with this."**_

" _ **That being said we should both keep a close eye on Yuzu. I have already informed Yuzu of this so don't worry about her keeping a close eye on herself as well. She has given my thoughts some consideration."**_

" _ **..I understand, Sora."**_

 _ **The way he talked about stopping someone invasive like the XYZ user and the way Yuzu stated he was quick to fight him in the warehouse he had been trailing her made him believe he really is trained for crimes like this.**_

 _ **He could trust Sora to not be invasive for fighting invasive people like this, but..what kind of life did he come from where he was accustomed to dark matters like this?**_

 _ **He had saved Yuzu and him from being further harmed by Sawatari but...how was he so prepared to step in and resolve matters where people were being considered like prey to be hunted and harmed? How could he resolve matters so nobly, unafraid to be in the midst of such...toxic injustice?**_

 _ **It was then Yuya was reminded of how he had asked him to help him carry Sawatari and his gang back to the LDS infirmary to which Yuya had looked at him in confusion.**_

" _ **Despite his wrong treatment to you and your friends Yuya it simply isn't right to just leave people in the middle of nowhere unconscious like this. I wouldn't have liked to use force if he was willing to change his unjust ways," Sora explained.**_

" _ **While I wouldn't have like to have to make him unconscious like this it seems I had no choice," Sora thought. "Well..it's better than leaving him dead. If you leave someone dead, there's no chance they will change their ways and find justice like you wanted. Leave them alive and there's a chance they will change. Who knows? Maybe these men won't wrongly attack innocent people like you guys."**_

" _ **...What am I supposed to explain to the doctors and nurses there?," Yuya asked, and Sora only stated, "That he lost a duel, and this is the result of it."**_

 _ **It was a very simplistic explanation, but...Yuya wasn't given a choice to question it because Yuzu had quickly stated, "I'll help!," instead before he could.**_

" _ **I'll be out to walk home with you in a while!"**_

 _ **Yuya was hesitant but tried to convince himself to not be wary of Sora as he had just helped them out, saving them from Sawatari. Still..he was only going to give Sora the benefit of the doubt just this once as he agreed to let Yuzu go with him. Afterwards...he had to learn not to be so trusting of people as they could take advantage of him like Sawatari.**_

 _ **In a while had turned into a very long time leaving Yuya to wonder just what did she talk to him so long about for that day?**_

 _ **Yuya found it interesting though that he did have at least some sense of hospitality in not leaving Sawatari unconscious there. It was..buried beneath him in an odd way.**_

With all of these thoughts in his mind Yuya went on to further discuss to Yuzu what he thought of Sora.

"I actually trust him for saying how the reason he was outside of our house wasn't because he was stalking us but because he lost his way to the hotel room he usually rents to stay in and was crouching in defeat with no sense of home, which led my mom to pick it up, only wanting to be hospitable, interpreting him as homeless and my mom who used to live on the streets growing up not having much to afford a home knows what that feeling is like."

"Yoko and I have kept him out our house, and apparently my mom stated that he was grateful for our hospitality, paying for ingredients for meals so he wouldn't seem like just a deadbeat bumming off of us."

" **I used to think he was just complimenting my mom for being youthful to get something from her but he stated it was a compliment for anyone to have any sense of youth still inside them, and that I would be surprised by how much I would learn to respect it once it was lost."**

" **He's still a child was all I thought so he should know all about youth and not feel like he's lost it."**

" **But...occasionally...when I allow him to sleep over, I hear him mumble in his sleep about how hard it is to financially support himself by keeping a job when he keeps getting fired and him feeling depressed enough to just want to forget about it all with alcohol. He keeps muttering he won't ever get to that state, and that he will always fight against that."**

" **Yet his mutterings get even more frantic. He talks about having no home to go to, and wishing to not stay on the streets. Then he talks about something bad having to be done anyway if you wish to survive even if it's wrong. I guess it's what he mumbles about the most that gets to me. He states his parents shouldn't have ever left him in his life, and that he should be a normal kid who doesn't have to think about pressing matters like keeping a job, finding a hotel to sleep at, and whether he should get drunk or not to forget his sorrows."**

 **Everything Yuya said that day about Sora only pained Yuzu's heart.**

"But...he seems so nice," Yuzu thought.

He helped Yuya, Tatsuya, Ayu, Futoshi, and her from getting injured further from Sawatari telling them that he was planning to get them help earlier but was surprised when Yuya saved them already from falling from the tower.

He really genuinely wanted to be friends with Yuya not just for his Pendulum Summoning as he showed he was fine if he didn't have it but because he stated multiple times that Yuya's deck reminded him of childlike innocence and his spirit of entertainment reminded him of happy times when he was a kid cheering on the entertainer. When Tatsuya, Ayu, and Futoshi shouted, "Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!", he had shouted that as well in memory of what it was like.

Sora was also exceptionally kind to kids.

She could bring up any time when Tatsuya, Ayu, and Futoshi badmouthed him rightfully in their case because Sora did slip out bitter words, and each time she would find Sora never lashed out at them.

During the showdown with LDS when they were calling him weak for not fighting he just smiled saying, "Sorry, sorry. I get it."

He sat down to even talk with them, seeming visibly relaxed near them.

Futoshi would show sketches he did, Ayu would talk of how she liked the aquarium so much and share fairy tale books she liked, and Tatsuya would talk about how good he was with numbers, pushing in buttons for calculators, leaving Sora gently smiling at them.

When Ayu asked for Sora to read fairy tales to all of them he never declined from doing so.

There was one fairy tale that stuck out to him.

"Have you ever heard of the fairy tale of the Flower and the Worm That Turned Into The Soldier Beetle?," Sora asked, having that gentle smile he always had around them.

Of course everyone had said no, looking at him strangely, yet the tale had drawn in Yuzu.

"It's my favorite fairy tale," Sora began, before opening the book, beginning to speak.

"Once upon a time, there was a worm that was always soaking wet with icy tears of depression flowing down on its skin, feeling like it was going to drown in its depression. This worm was told to be a soldier at a very young age, left to stay in a dark world, and never see more to it, ever feeling free. It was cursed. Light would only dry out its skin. It grew very scared inside and was timid having no backbone and as a result all it could do was crawl on the ground, hoping to run away from the ones who hunted it."

"One day, the worm so desperate to see the outside world had went out in the light anyway. Its skin was soon drying out. Just when it thought it reached its end it saw a flower. The flower was looking up at the sun while sweating. It had this habit of overworking itself and being selfless for others thinking of helping them by shining light on their day even if it was sweating, needing rest."

"The flower realizing the worm was about to disappear wished it could help it naturally not caring about its own self even if it should."

"The worm stated it was only destined to never see the world of sunlight, and yet the flower was kind saying, "For just a little while, come and see it while you can," and its petals resembling nothing more than tear droplets would keep the worm wet enough to see the world."

"The worm climbed up on the flower, marveling at the beauty of a world of light, but felt bad that it could not stay longer to thank the flower for it was a soldier that was supposed to be locked up. It shortly began to rain after its view, and the worm asking if the flower would be alright was only saddened by its usual response of "Flowers are used to this. Drowning in tears of sorrow but it is alright so long as we manage to help others in our life." The worm hugged the flower, comforting it, and the flower felt happy at the comfort received."

"Though the worm could not stay long still the flower asked, "Will I ever see you again? Will you be free? Do you believe you can be free?"

"The worm didn't know how to answer such questions but the flower smiled saying, "I know you will. I will wait for you to see the freedom you deserve. I know you will turn into a noble soldier with wings that can fly seeing the world not being locked away from it."

"Each day the flower believed in the worm, remaining beside it moved the worm so much that it stopped being a fearful soldier and turned into a Soldier Beetle, flapping its wings and free to see the world of light. It shared in the sweetness of the flower's kind words, and vowed to protect it, as the flower vowed to do so too with its kindness."

"And of course...you know the ending words for each fairy tale."

"They lived happily ever after!," Tatsuya, Ayu, Futoshi, and Sora happily yelled, as they all giggled. Soon their parents had arrived taking them home and Yuzu came to sit near Sora only smiling at him.

"I've never heard that fairy tale. It's quite a beautiful one," Yuzu happily began.

"You seem to have read many fairy tales. Do you know anymore including soldiers? I would really love to read them!"

Sora's hands attempted to straighten the collar of his blue jacket as he thought of any more fairy tales he knew.

Yuzu noticed that he was very fond with his jacket. It was like a precious possession to him. She had never seen him without it.

"..The Moon Soldier And Sun Sapphire Maiden," Sora answered.

"The Moon Soldier And Sun Sapphire Maiden?," Yuzu inquired, to which Sora stated, "The story starts off with the soldier at the end of war, but having too many wounds to serve the king he served."

"The only reason the soldier was serving was because he was oppressed by tyrants, financially struggling, needing some type of home instead of being in the streets and the king he served had given him money, seeming like someone he could be close with for helping him when he was poor."

"But then...the king dropped the soldier saying he could return to his home and that he no longer had use for a tool that was now injured."

"Troubled with no home and wondering what he lived for, the soldier trudged on with only a sapphire cloak that was the symbol of his high rank as a soldier."

"He wondered if he had done anything noble as a soldier. He thought he had only hurt lives."

"He was no hero."

"Eventually the soldier had met a sapphire eyed maiden in the forests. Her eyes were calm and cool, yet also full of a firm determined power like fire. Actually the first thought in the soldier's mind was sapphire fires. **She longed to burn warm, sheltering others, never wishing to be a useless burden that couldn't protect others but..her sapphire flames burned everything."**

" **They were tears that hadn't been tended to for too long and yet the soldier related to her in how it struggled in saving and protecting lives when it wanted too as well."**

"The soldier had come from a far too dark world and yet the sapphire eyed maiden said his emerald eyes were like emerald forests cooling down her sapphire flames and his voice was like the soothing sound of a cool breeze rushing through the rustling of leaves, calming her. The soldier told her it loved the moon, and the maiden only stated it loved the sun."

"This maiden adored the soldier, seeing it as a moon that shined even in the dark which was hard to do unlike the sun. It helped her even if it was falling apart by the tides of tears inside of its own eyes. As for the soldier, the soldier found her kind, wishing to get closer to her and not burned by distance put by not talking about worrying nightmares troubling her as to not worry anyone. She was like the sun so full of light and yet she could dangerously explode if not soothed."

" **She was considered as high as the blue horizon, but no one worried about her thinking she was strong and that placed her up too high to be reached so she was distant from them that they couldn't hear her cries of help when she needed just like any human would need in the world. No one can always be strong."**

" **Blue is the symbol of high ranking strength but it would be nice if someone could hear your worries, supporting you, wouldn't it?"**

" **The soldier with his blue cloak understood that she knew what it was like having a high rank of power misunderstood."**

 **At this comment, Yuzu noticed Sora look down at his blue jacket again.**

 **She wondered if that jacket of his was connected to high expectations of some sort.**

 **Yuzu is now curious on how this fairy tale ends.**

" **Since the soldier and the maiden were on the same blue horizon, they stuck together, understanding eachother. The soldier, representing the moon, and the maiden, representing the sun, made it possible that they could be together in the same home."**

"Wow," Yuzu breathed out.

"What an amazing tale."

Yuzu didn't realize it back then, but the whole fairy tale was only a reflection of Sora and her.

Her eyes like sapphire flames..the way she wanted to help never be a useless burden..the way Sora could be dark but was also a cool minded moon that helped her from not overworking into an exhaust of heat when she was burning and destroying healthy progress by biting into more than she could chew during fusion lessons.

His voice did remind her of the gentle breeze through leaves that soothed her and his eyes were like emerald forests that cooled her sapphire flames.

To be in the same home..not for Sora to run away...that would be nice.

Couldn't she be the flower that showed him he didn't deserve to feel like he had no choice and was forced to only one place with how he believed you were bound to where you come from?

" **Well..fairy tales are nice but that's all they are," Sora harshly stated.**

" **Still..kids need something to dream for instead of stressing their mind out in complicated matters, right?"**

" **Anyway, it's getting late. I better get going."**

If Yuzu could go back in time, she would use it to say several things that day.

That if he was having nightmares which she knew he had as he tossed and turned in his sleep saying, "I'm not going back! Stop it! Don't do it again!," over and over she would assist him like he always did for her.

That if he was stressing his mind out he always relaxed hers, teaching her a break would rest her body for recovery giving her more ability to keep going, and that she would like to relax him in return.

 **He trusted her even if she wasn't invincible.**

 **It's hard to trust someone after their flaws are exposed but he did.**

 **Maybe that's why her heart started beating when he smiled and told her "Good work" each day.**

 **Or was it how he realized she was human but still accepted her, loving her for being who she sincerely was?**

 **He was humane.**

 **His deck reminded her of that.**

 **She had dealt with her mother's death but Sora's deck helped her get through it.**

 **Death Toys deck was a horrifying name and yet it had encouraged Yuzu.**

" **I thought your deck was dealing with the sadness and pain inflicted on someone after they have died. For the longest time, I struggled expressing that, thinking of myself as weak for doing that, but you taught me that it was perfectly humane to show my sadness. You were concerned over the loss of their life. They mattered to you. To grieve death means you cared deeply about life. There is nothing more humane than that. There is nothing stronger than someone who cared about life! I would rather have that...than apathy. When I saw your deck as memories of the dead that are still fighting and supporting you, honored deeply, I realized how strong your deck was. You know that they wouldn't want you dying for them but living for them and yourself. My mother's death...is a subject that hurts...and so many times you would find me alone in the pouring rain instead of talking with anyone about it. I would cry and cry, but when you came..I became more open about it, and little by little by actually not being ashamed in hiding my negative emotions over death, I felt at ease because I actually cared about life. I wasn't being apathetically inhumane about the loss of a life. Your deck Sora really is one of life."**

 **Yet why?**

" **You don't know what kind of person I am, Yuzu."**

 **Why?**

" **I don't deserve your praise."**

 **WHY?**

" **You don't realize how dead and rotten inside I really am."**

 **YOU'RE NOT!**

" **I'm apathetic towards anything."**

 **That's a lie.**

" **Can't you see…"**

 **That insane smile of sadness and bitterness was on his face again and unfortunately, he was stating too many thoughts for Yuzu to understand all at once.**

" **I realized the source of pain and sadness was a heart and mind so I simply eliminated those two from myself! Sure, I had given myself up to mindlessness and heartlessness but don't you think thoughts and feelings only weigh down on one's self!? If the reason why everything was hurting was because it mattered, then all I needed was to give myself over to a world of meaninglessness where nothing mattered, eliminating pain!"**

" **Oh sure I might of been in the right of justice when I said that I was humane for caring about the loss of their lives but my thoughts weren't cared about by anyone! All anyone thought of was rewards for a stupid hunting game! I guess it makes sense since we're all children who want to go back to the simplicity of a game not having to overthink things as complicated but sugarcoating matters doesn't really seem fun anymore when you end up in a world full of cavities for you to sink inside of."**

 **Sora then grabbed the end of his jacket saying, "And why was I supposed to pretend to be happy over this high honor!? Why was everyone clapping over what was gone in my life!?**

" **Why were they laying them up like mere display cases!? As if people were prizes to win?"**

 **A flash of memories possessing carded victims in display cases lined up baring horrific faces before death were all over his mind, making it hard for him to breathe.**

" **And to think..to think that.."**

 **Whatever he was going to say next was silenced by Yuzu softly hugging him.**

" **Sora," Yuzu had whispered softly.**

" **I don't know what's happened in your life."**

" **But I want to learn about your home, your parents, your goals, anything about you."**

" **I want to listen, but you're going to need to slow down so I can understand."**

 **Sora had calmed down upon her touch till he shedded a mere tear as he slowly wrapped his arms around her back.**

" **Don't you get it? I can try to make sense of my thoughts..but it's all nonsense in this insanity."**

 **His voice was hoarse.**

" **Sometimes the memories I have come in nightmares, and sometimes they're so traumatic I try to block them out. I repress them, only for them to come back in flashes, horrifying me. I don't even know if my memories are real or not. I guess it's a question of whether I want to have a delusion or accept reality. At first the option to forget memories was forced and not by me if that's what you're thinking. That's a more complicated story. My head is confused. There are times where the flashes of memories that return knock me out cold onto the ground. I hate that. I don't understand, Yuzu, why this keeps happening to me."**

 **Yuzu didn't understand his comments about a hunting game but she did understand that whatever happened in his past included a loss of lives and he had been trying to repress such traumatic memories. He must of felt confused when something that was supposed to be in his head was missing when he didn't know what his memories were and remembering what he had forgotten was only a hard process.**

 **Maybe the reason he never talked about his home and parents was because he was amnesiac yet hid that uncomfortable fact that he couldn't recall memories he needed from anyone, trying to live.**

" **The question I'm most afraid of Yuzu is whether I should remember or not when they're all bad memories. Forgetting them...living in a fantasy where they never happened..isn't working because that's a delusion, isn't it? Everything is just some big delusion! I'm just someone pretending to be childish! I'm just someone trying to be noble when I'm really not! Yet..I was told I was protecting lives and my own as well. Maybe I was. I was serving the ones I lived with. That was more than enough. That's why I'm so loyal to my home, deciding to be bound to it! Yet what about others? Did it matter? At least some were being helped. Maybe not a lot but..some. That was all I could manage. I can't leave children I understand who wanted the simplicity of a game because..I'm just like them."**

" **When those kids...Tatsuya, Ayu, and Futoshi only insulted me for not fighting LDS when they were buying your school like you and your friends were a piece of property all I could think was this happens where I'm from too much. I wonder why I have to fight, people are bought like properties, and of course like the children they are they held onto the naivety of heroism being that you could fight in such an oppressed situation like that. That anyone would fight instead of succumbing to defeat. Yet...that's not how a real battle works. If you have to wonder why you need to fight, why people even consider you oppressed, and be scared that they're even considering you a lower being, you realize the real fear is injustice in the world and that you're nothing more than a plebeian to be rooted out for your defiance and you are weak."**

 **Those exact words were the ones he called out whenever he summoned Death-Toy Mad Chimera.**

" **Root out the plebeians that dare defy you!"**

 **A plebeian was someone of lower class and a Chimera was a term for something that was illusionary and impossible to achieve.**

 **Did he really think people were too low to try to defy someone that tried to overpower them? Did he really think of it as just an illusion?**

 **She notices that his deck tended to revolve around the animals that composed a Chimera. A sheep and a lion, and as for a snake she hadn't quite seen that yet in his deck.**

 **He would say lions were a symbol of strength but to her..Wheel Saw Leo always looked like someone who was pretending to be brave when really scared. Frightfur Sheep felt like innocence of justice chained down that was still trying to fight but fighting was never a sheep's strong suit. Fleeing was.**

 **Did Sora think he couldn't be strong?**

 **Did he think by turning into someone who rooted out plebeians he was getting revenge?**

" **You aren't someone of low ranking of worth," Yuzu argued.**

" **You are strong. You were the first to volunteer against LDS when it was a tense situation. I admired your sense of leadership and willingness to take initiative. I have only been meaning to thank you for that."**

" **Himika may not have acknowledged our worth as duelists, and you were mad at that but I wasn't. I saw your worth, and so I told you not to get mad at her. You only pouted like a child when I did so, and asked me why I wasn't upset that she was insulting my worth when she should be seeing it. What you said...I liked how you held so much worth in someone and fought for that to be seen."**

" **I've had enough of your lies," Sora stated, his viridescent eyes narrowing at her harshly.**

 **He began to chuckle darkly.**

" **A leader like a lion? Seeing worth in anyone? Those are the two qualities that I don't encompass."**

" **Even plebeians that became noble never really did have the sense of rightness in their life. I know that's true."**

" **Even if they joined the military, they were never seen as strong enough to have a say in a country's government, possessing rights," Sora thought. "They were also rarely seen as leaders or having the potential to even be one."**

 **His dark chuckles were unsettling Yuzu.**

" **Sora, stop.."**

" **Stop what, Yuzu?," Sora harshly asked.**

" **Stating the truth?"**

" **I was a weak leader who abandoned you by not fighting for LDS."**

" **No. You weren't. When you told me if it weren't for Yuya, You Show Duel School would of been done for, I wasn't angry at you. I was glad that you were giving me a warning to be stronger. Everyone was treating my loss as nothing and as if there was no need for me to improve even if that would make me stronger but it isn't nothing when my loss could hurt my friends in the future. You were the only one serious and the only one who wasn't afraid to roughly state the truth with me only to benefit me. You roughly stated it because you knew I could take it. You knew that I would become stronger, growing from my flaws, seeing the same strength in improvement like I did, teaching me Fusion Summoning even after my loss to Masumi and not to mention stating that I could become stronger showing you didn't think a loss would stop me."**

" **I was glad. I was glad that you weren't afraid to be roughly honest with me. Because..you knew I wouldn't shrivel up in doubt when I was strong. Your rough bluntness is strong serious honesty and I like that about you. In that sense..it's also kinda soft-hearted, meaning well. You're like a mixture of rough and gentle! I know how your comment could of been interpreted as insult to Gongenzaka and I but I didn't take it as that. You were stating the reality. If it wasn't for Yuya, You Show Duel School would of been done for. That's a hard truth but you have the ability to be sincere enough to state it instead of weakly lying about it. I will always admire that candidness of you. That's why you're a strong leader who I could never see as abandoning me. Not when even when I was spacing out, you still tried to explain Fusion Summoning to me. You take mistakes as only reasons to learn to be stronger not seeing them as your potential disappearing."**

" **Yes, you were scared later on during the duel with LDS, trying to hide that just like Yuya was doing with how he kept putting his goggles on. You can say you weren't at all like a noble lion, but how do you know a lion isn't scared either? They're always hiding before attacking their opponent instead of directly confronting them right away. That's how you are. You volunteer fiercely to fight against them even if inside you're scared. That's the hardest thing to do, because fear keeps many from fighting but you kept trying to push through it. That's why you're a leader to me. That's why you're my master, Sora."**

" **You told me during Masumi's duel that she was wrong saying my eyes lacked luster."**

" **You told me my eyes were full of uncertainty but pushing to work through it, which hardly lacks luster."**

" **Masumi kept insulting me as weak for being hesitant, but you told me I was strong for trying to push through."**

" **To fight when you're uncertain is hard. You told me Masumi wouldn't understand that, only relying on confidence and pride as she kept judging me right away before she even knew me."**

" **I was happy when you told me that she can't see diamonds are made in the rough, and the roughness of the situation was only allowing me to shine even further."**

" **I was so happy because you understood me."**

" **When I lost Masumi's duel I was hurt and I could barely stand yet when Yuya asked me if I was fine, I argued I was fine even if I wasn't as to not worry him, wishing for his happiness. Even so at the moment all I thought was I don't want someone to believe I was strong this time and there's no reason to worry about me when I need comfort like anyone else in the world would."**

" **But...Yuya right away believed me. He cheered, "Thank goodness!," even though no one would be ok from a blow like that one I took, thinking like anyone ever does that I was invincible. I tried to be happy. He had so much trust in me. What was there to be sad about? He only meant well in holding such a positive perspective of me."**

" **But that was just it. To me, it wasn't positive even if he considered it to be so. It was negative. No one understands I need comfort unless I lash out at them or throw myself upon them. So that's what I did with Yuya. He was so confused when I fell on him, wrapping my arms around him."**

" **It saddened me. All I could ask was, "Is it so hard to believe I need comfort? That I struggle? That there are times where I'm not fine?," like anyone else."**

" **He didn't even notice my hesitant glances throughout this showdown with LDS."**

" **He just kept smiling at me."**

" **But I was glad when he finally wrapped his arms around me and yet..I was shortly saddened afterwards."**

" **Why did it take you so long, Yuya?"**

" **Why did it take you so long to hold me?"**

" **...Everyone was saying how great it was that Yuya comforted you, clearing your doubts, and got rid of your doubts, applauding you as two who loved eachother romantically, but..I guess I struggled seeing that," Sora stated.**

" **Because..if he really cleared your doubts why were they still on your mind while you were asking me about Fusion Summoning?"**

" **I tried not to think so pessimistically like that."**

" **I was trying not to be selfish and look for all of the bad traits of him when..I loved you and wanted to support your choice, seeing you happy," Sora thought.**

" **But...I was concerned about the way you hardly tell him anything," Sora confessed.**

" **Like in classes before the LDS showdown, you lied when something was on your mind most likely about the XYZ user smiling to Yuya."**

" **You're usually sincere so I became worried."**

" **You didn't tell him you were learning Fusion Summoning from me and while you told me it was a surprise for him, are you sure there wasn't another reason?"**

" **I guess what got me even more concerned was the way he treated you."**

" _ **Yuzu is learning Fusion Summoning from you? Oh it must be for Miami Championship."**_

" **Then he talked of how great it was that he found matches to help him qualify for Miami Championship while you were clearly worried over the XYZ user even if you just smiled at his happiness. I sat there dumbfounded at how he just assumed what you were doing instead of seeing if that was what you actually were doing."**

" **You didn't say a word to him, only calmly listening, and yet...it irritated me."**

" **Why won't you ask someone you're close with what's wrong? Why are you just assuming that?"**

" **But even more I found it strange when you answered me without hesitation the questions I had about the XYZ user."**

" **You didn't lie and say nothing to me like you did with Yuya."**

" **All I could ask was, "Why? Why trust me like that?"**

" **When he took your Fusion card, I became even more agitated. These past days you had been worried over the XYZ user reminding you of your mother's death and failing to protect You Show Duel School feeling useless and yet that card made you happy that you were becoming stronger and weren't useless. I had been wanting to see you happy not saddened for a long time. Truth was...I was worried."**

" **Worried?," Yuzu thought, her eyes widening, and her heart pounding at that as a light pink tint dusted her cheeks.**

" **I guess I got used to your presence too much which was why I was mad that you weren't watching my final qualification duel for Junior Championship. I'm not used to people watching me to genuinely support me instead of seeing whether I will fail or not like you did," Sora admitted.**

" **I got mad. I started to think you just used me for Fusion Summoning and left once you mastered it. I wasn't a friend. I was just some tool. People just use eachother never genuinely helping others."**

" **But..as soon as I called you after yelling at you to watch me, I immediately felt better when you said you had just been looking for your Fusion card and weren't planning on not watching my last duel."**

" **I felt so guilty mistrusting you."**

" **Maybe you thought I would be angry at you for losing such an important gift."**

" **I wasn't angry since you were looking for it. I wished you had told me sooner so we could both look for it."**

" **At the same time I was aware that you wanted to see Yuya's qualification matches as did I so I decided to try to ease your mind with that and also use that as a means to make up for me mistrusting you."**

" **Yet..when he was using your Fusion card without your permission I was mad."**

" **You forgave him happy that you could be of assistance to him, but I could tell that you also weren't happy with his actions."**

" **Taking your card without permission was a low blow. I know he complimented you saying you're trying to turn into a new Yuzu with that card and grow stronger so for that reason..for his gratitude towards you..my anger was softened as was yours."**

" **I thought..he really does understand Yuzu. He knows she struggles but is trying to get stronger. He doesn't just think she's invincible but can understand her limits, still having amazing trust in her. That must be what he meant by a "new" Yuzu. All he has ever seen you as is someone with no struggles but at last he realizes that you have them, and still respects you even with them."**

" **However...I still noticed you sad even so, leaving me wanting to ask why."**

" **I felt like I hadn't done enough to make you happy when you kept spacing out during lessons about the XYZ user, never laughing if I was jumping around childishly excited about everything, trying to cheer you up. I would even shout, "Look at how amazing this place for my qualification match looks like!" or "Let's get sweets after our hard work!" with a big smile upon my face only to see you distracted, looking at your bracelet, only replying with a hesitant, "Yes. That's nice, Sora," clearly not paying attention to me, because of how sad you felt inside, and worrying me even further."**

" **But..if it was Yuya, it would be different, I thought. He may struggle with conveying it but he sees you as a strong person, amazed by your perseverance. He would make you happy, and that's all that matters to me. Seeing you happy."**

" **But..you weren't happy. You were sad, and that made me angry when all I wanted was to see you happy."**

" **...I was sad because Yuya stated specifically with my Fusion card I was trying to change into someone stronger," Yuzu began.**

" **Our concepts of strength is different. Ever since Yuya got Pendulum Summoning, he viewed it as the only determinator of his worth especially when he got so much respect for it but I wanted someone to like him for his personality not just his technique. For how he always tried even if he was sad inside to be kind to others with a smile and did have a world of color inside of himself once he stopped staying caged in walls he built around himself."**

" **Yuya always stated that it was just like to me say things like that even if it wasn't true. I wanted Yuya to see strength in himself and not just a new technique. Yuya always told me he admired my initiative to learn new abilities, becoming stronger, but I wanted to tell him I wasn't just strong because of my winning dueling streak. I was strong because of my personality that may have had struggles but still kept trying despite that. I wasn't strong because I knew I was gonna win but because I could keep going if nothing was certain."**

" **However..Yuya kept telling me with Pendulum Summoning he was going to change and evolve in his dueling even if that was just a technique, not seeing worth in his self. When he stated a "new" Yuzu he wasn't referring to seeing anything new about my character but rather seeing something new about me taking on a new dueling technique, Fusion Summoning, like him."**

" **I told him he needed to believe in his self-worth because he has so much value. He always asked me for practice matches which I would comply to but I got saddened seeing him get upset over me beating him. Even if I smiled saying he was improving he would only say, "I'm not. You're just being incredibly modest."**

 **She would recall his blushing face, his averting crimson eyes, and the agitation lining his features was evident.**

" **I thought I wasn't being much help so what was the point?"**

" **I was tired of him being jealous of my strength."**

" **But..I was happy when he said how much help Gongenzaka had been to him, needing to thank him."**

" **While you brought up that he should thank me too more often, I know why Yuya doesn't."**

" **If it's someone close to his heart, he struggles showing that. He did lose his father after all. What if he loses someone else he dearly cherishes again? Why get close to anyone? So..he acts distant, not thanking me, afraid to get close to me. I try to understand. He shouldn't feel uncomfortable. I'll always be there for him when he needs me and maybe one day, I'll see his real smile again. I'll wait for him to feel close to me."**

" **Crude strong woman" and "I don't need your help" don't hurt me that much."**

" **Really, it's fine."**

" **It's not fine!," Sora blurted out. "You should be appreciated, especially when all you do is worry about him sick and wish to be of help to him! You don't have to help but you do it because you're just...kind like that!"**

" **When you tried explaining your bracelet and there was a man that looked just like him, he could of...been more sympathetic."**

 **Right before Sora had said, "Be careful or someone might steal Yuzu from you!," he didn't state the comment just to tease him about his romantic interests. Yuya hadn't stopped talking about how her comment that her bracelet made a man that looked just like him disappear was completely ridiculous.**

 **He could of said he didn't understand what she was talking about but he would try to understand rather than dismissing her worries completely.**

 **He came off as apathetic when all she happened to be was just worried over how it kept reminding her of her mother's death.**

 **He needed to treat her better, and so Sora warned him to be careful before she was stolen by someone so he could at least have happy memories with her before..war happened, thoughts of Academia taking her deep in his mind.**

 **You never know what you have until you lose it.**

 **That's all the more reason to protect it, not distance yourself from it.**

 **This distance he put between him and Yuzu would only grow larger.**

 **If they were ever separated, would it hurt him to see how huge its grown?**

 **He would try to make up his mistakes of course.**

 **This time I'll cherish you, Yuzu. This time I won't lose you, Yuzu.**

 **You tried to make me open up. You always loyally stayed beside me.**

 **Those would be Yuya's thoughts.**

 **But..that's just it.**

 **You should get a problem early on before it grows into a larger one. Trying to not notice it to solve it backfires in your face till you're leftover with ashes of what could of been. It's like leaving what's brewing and stirring inside cooking till it overflows into a mess. You don't want to address it, but if you don't what's gonna happen to you?**

 **Sora's life taught him that.**

 **It was more of a warning to Yuya.**

 **He did pretend to fake a smile to not notice problems like him.**

 **That's not gonna work all the time.**

 **Sora's sanity began to slip from him trying to not notice the true thoughts in his mind as they hurt.**

" **But..my explanation was ridiculous so Yuya's reaction to me was logical, Sora," Yuzu said, smiling sadly, which was hurting Sora.**

 **Yuzu didn't want to trouble anyone with her worries.**

 **If she forced a smile, it was just to not worry anyone.**

 **Everyone has masks and they're done for different reasons.**

 **Yuya does it to not feel incapable inside.**

 **Sora does it to regain what was lost.**

 **Yuzu does it to not worry anyone.**

 **Yet..most of the time Yuzu tried to be sincere, and Sora liked her sincerity.**

 **He missed her sincerity.**

 **He didn't want her to change into someone masking their emotions.**

 **Not when she helped him not do that.**

 **He would return the favor.**

 **That night Yuya called her ridiculous before his duel with Mieru still made his heart swell up in anguish.**

 **She had called him late at night for another Fusion lesson even though she had worked hard enough that day.**

 **Her father seemed exceptionally sad that day explaining that she hadn't come out of her room ever since yelling at him for not knowing much about her bracelet. He went on to tell him she never usually lashed out at him or anyone indicating Yuzu's nature to not talk about her problems unless it got to the point where she couldn't keep it inside.**

 **Unfortunately, her father couldn't stay for long as he had preparations to make for You Show Duel School overnight and other dueling schools to visit for meetings on what could make their schools better.**

 **Yuzu felt..alone that night, but Sora hoped to eased the sadness she felt.**

 **He had knocked on her door asking if he could come in but he hadn't heard an answer, which worried him.**

 **He decided to go inside anyway only to find her laying on her bed asleep.**

" **..You call me to come here only to fall asleep when I arrive? Unbelievable," Sora thought, his eye twitching before he shook his head in slight amusement of her, his lips quirking up into a smile as he decided to wake her up. Though when he arrived, he found himself startled by the streams of tears staining her cheeks.**

" **I hate this bracelet. It's always reminding me of how I can't see anyone's real smile before they disappear. Not my mother's, not the XYZ user's, and not Yuya's," Yuzu mumbled.**

" **Why does it always have to be like this?"**

 **Sora noticed that she hadn't told her father any of this which once again made Sora wonder why she had to be so..isolated.**

" **Dad..I like your hot-blooded training but I also wanna learn new things too. That's why I keep training with Sora to use Fusion summoning," Yuzu muttered.**

" **Your lessons have covered the basics but I'm past that now."**

" **I guess what I mean is..whenever you teach this, you bring up how I would love these lessons when I was just a little girl but..that's just it. I'm not just a little girl anymore. I wanna grow and learn more new things!"**

" **I don't mean to seem distant from you. Believe me when I say that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just...growing up."**

 **Yuzu then smiled as she said, "Of course I'm still your daughter even when I'm older. You're not losing your daughter if that's what you're fearing."**

 **Sora smiled at her taking happiness in growing up recalling a previous conversation he had with her regarding that. It had started with a talk about the fairy tales he had read in comparison to the ones she had read.**

" _I haven't really read fairy tales like the ones you have read, Sora!"_

" _The fairy tales that I've read are mostly simplistic in comparison!"_

" _Like..oh! The Hungering Caterpillar Returning As A Butterfly To The Flower!"_

" _I mean I really like caterpillars and butterflies and all it's really about is a caterpillar eating too much and becoming a butterfly so..," Yuzu began to happily ramble only for Sora to interrupt her with, "_ _ **The tale that makes transitioning from childhood to adulthood into a beautiful matter.**_ _**I..like that tale**_ _," smiling fondly._

" _I never really understood why you liked caterpillars so much as you love flowers and caterpillars have been known to eat and harm flowers but you were happy with them even so."_

" _You told me even if they're left on the ground, they keep crawling having hope that one day they will be creatures of flight..butterflies."_

" _The caterpillars may be jealous of how flowers can stand strong even in the dirt of their oppression, explaining why they harm them but they don't want to do that always. They want to be with the flowers in their mindset about oppression and one day they will rise up being the butterfly that can live with them in the same mindset, promising to always return to them, now that they understand the colors of freedom not oppression."_

" _The fairy tale you adored ends with the caterpillars stating that the flowers that tried to be hospitable with them would be shown hospitality as well."_

" _Upon this oath, the caterpillar earned a different name. Oh well..this is all dependent on what variation of the fairy tale you read. There are different versions of the fairy tale so you may not know the part of the story I'm talking about."_

" _Some versions of the fairy tale you're talking about Yuzu include the caterpillar being once known as the Devil's Cat. Upon making an oath to the flower, the Devil's Cat changed its ways of staying in the injustice of oppression and named itself the Caterpillar. This new name originated from how the flower tried to hospitably cater to the Caterpillar, making it feel at home in the pillars of soft comfort its petals held."_

" _I never read that variation of the fairy tale," Yuzu admitted rather awe-stricken now._

" _A missing page from the fairy tale has also made its way out to the public," Sora continued._

" _It said that if the flower ever was to cry in its tears the caterpillar would only believe its teary eyed seas pull it in to travel across them to find what potential lives within and convincing the flower that the sweet nectar of kindness has not yet dissolved."_

" _There's also another missing page. It's the last words to the flower of the caterpillar when it turned into a butterfly."_

" _It reads, "Despite having heroic colorful wings I have to balance from the heavy embrace from saving all from death. That is why I am glad that you help me find balance in this chaotic life of mine. I feel balance upon being with you, seeking comfort in the delicate sound of your soothing voice. Teach me how to balance myself being firm and grounded along with level-headed like you do, Flower."_

 _Sora seemed incredibly knowledgeable about fairy tales._

 _Yuzu then smiled deciding to play a game that would decide how many fairy tales Sora knew._

 _He was in a deep contemplative state over the fairy tale before Yuzu chirped happily, "You sure know a lot of fairy tales, Sora! I wonder just how many you know altogether. Are you familiar of the Town Musicians of Bremen?", smiling brightly ready to hear what he knew._

" _Animals that were considered outcasts and slaves to masters that mistreated them ordering them around fought for their freedom finding a new home, becoming more outspoken when it comes to justly speaking for their rights, and finding the music of life now before them, deciding they all want to be musicians," Sora began before saying, "I'll take a guess and say your father must of read that fairy tale to you a thousand times when you were younger before you fell asleep."_

 _He had a gentle smile on his face upon the thought of a younger Yuzu looking at her peaceful smiling father with twinkling eyes in excitement as he read the fairy tale to her in a soothing voice while she laid in her bed._

 _Yuzu laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she grinned before saying, "Yep! Dad used to read it every night with me and I was just a ball of excitement when he did so."_

" _I would be the happiest when he only said, "And they all found their freedom in music, living happily forever!"_

" _This fairy tale only helped remind me of how much I loved music._ _ **Music really does set one free!"**_

 _Sora chuckled at her carefree nature before saying, "...When I first read that fairy tale I admired how even if the animals were outcasts in their society seen as lower in the ranks of slaves to a master that only mistreated them ordering them around they were looking for their own home and wanting life going to Bremen as they wanted something better than death."_

" _ **They didn't want to feel dead inside, silent to orders, not able to hear the music of life in their hearts that were no longer beating. They wanted to hear the loud music of their heartbeats come back to them, telling them they were alive to freely move not silent under orders. That even if they were held by the imprisoning strings of their master's control, instruments have learned to make music with them, not being submissive under them but learning how to be powerful against what tried to chained them down. The world wasn't a prison you were tied up in."**_

" _ **I would of never gotten something like the music of life not being lost in feelings of being in an imprisoned world that bounds you to its strings of oppression that are meant to chain you down and make you feel dead inside had I not met you."**_

" _ **Whenever I see you singing or playing an instrument and performing before a large crowd at the Miami Fine Arts Center when were not having Fusion lessons together hearing the music you make is oddly...empowering. Maybe because you don't remain tied by strings, but simply let them loose becoming free to pass any message through rather than be restricted."**_

" _ **I never understood something like that before I met you. Before I met you, my thoughts were even our voices have chords that are meant to tie their words down and never freely express one's self, but..I was wrong. Seeing you sing and play an instrument strumming any chord you want to so happily reminds me...our voices have chords that are meant to loosen the words and unspoken emotions we kept tied up for so long out. That any human being isn't an oppressed hostage of death when they can be a soldier of life."**_

" _ **I'm glad to have met you, Yuzu."**_

" _ **Really, I truly am lucky to have met someone like you."**_

" _ **Thank you for sharing your music with me."**_

" _ **In both your performances and in the way you strongly duel."**_

 _Sora was being heartfelt, sincerely smiling so..warmly and full of light to Yuzu and Yuzu happy to see him in such a good state but also surprised by all of his good words and even the sincerity he was having towards her felt her heart race and had only blushed smiling sheepishly yet again today as she stuttered, "I-It wasn't a problem, Sora! I'm glad to know that my performances in both my music and my dueling have impacted you so greatly! I should be the one thanking you for watching my performances! It really means a lot to me, Sora! To know that my work is so deeply appreciated from you!"_

 _Sora had softly placed his hand on top of Yuzu's head, a gesture he usually did before congratulating her and that she had for some odd reason always felt both soothed and strangely warm inside by._

" _Well..it's a master's job to watch their student's performance and tell them they have grown, is it not?," Sora asked, keeping his lighthearted smile._

" _ **You have grown tremendously."**_

 _Those words._

 _Those were words she always wanted to hear._

" _You have made a lot of progress and it's only to be expected of someone who works her hardest."_

" _ **You earned it, Yuzu."**_

 _That was enough for Yuzu to break out into a tender smile and hug Sora, wrapping her arms around his back, startling him._

 _However he was even more startled when he had felt something damp upon his chest looking to see her shedding tears._

" _..Yuzu?," Sora questioned about to ask her what was wrong before seeing her smile up at him as she said, "It's just..hearing so much words of praise from my Master makes me feel so happy that I'm crying tears of happiness."_

" _The truth is..I always used to feel like I didn't have a normal childhood. I mean..most children don't have to deal with being born upon a mother's death."_

" _Dad told me my mom left only one thing of her. That fan I always have around me."_

" _I kept wondering what kind of mother she was like. Whenever I held her fan I kept picturing what kind of mom she would be like. I thought kind but not the type to spoil one giving them all they ever wanted or to be a pushover to fits they have, making sure they got a scolding as a punishment for what not to do."_

" _Whenever I hit others with my fan when they did something wrong, I kept having my mother in my head scolding them on what not to do before kindly smiling and giving them a compliment."_

" _I would be happy and then saddened upon being reminded that I don't really know what my mother was like. Yet..I kept that fan. It was my only reminder of her."_

" _There were times where I thought normal kids don't have to think about this."_

" _They know what it's like to know their parent."_

" _I don't have a normal childhood. Not if it was brought up with her death. Can you say it was ever there if it was associated with death?"_

" _I appreciated Dad for being willing to adopt me, taking care of me, but he was financially struggling."_

" _Every application to You Show Duel School and money paid for classes is what helps him."_

" _When Sawatari made a comment about our school being cheap and run-down I got mad because all I could think was, "I'm trying to help my father from financially struggling. At least our school is catered to entertaining."_

" _Sometimes I even wondered if Dad hadn't adopted me, would he be struggling financially? I mean he wouldn't have an extra child to care for if he hadn't adopted me."_

" _It was then I developed the perspective, "Can't be a burden. Gotta be strong to help!"_

" _But..it led me to think that I shouldn't be helped because I'm a burden."_

" _If Dad wasn't helping me, he would be fine."_

" _Often times when I tried to help those in my life who were depressed they said someone so highly optimistic couldn't understand someone so lowly pessimistic like them. I couldn't help them, always told to leave a burden like them, not helping them."_

" _I guess I applied that to me too. I won't be helped and I won't be a burden worrying anyone."_

" _ **Even if everyone thinks of me as strong not seeing times I struggle thinking I can handle anything, it's fine so long as their happiness is maintained."**_

" _So when you mentioned how worried you were when I recklessly ran off to a warehouse to fight Sawatari alone without the help of my friends all I could think was I was being a burden to Yuya and you."_

" _You only argued Masumi wasn't afraid to call Hokuto and Yaiba when the culprit of attacks on LDS came, because Hokuto and Yaiba, are her friends..her equals of support. You argued Yuya and you were the same."_

" _You told me you admired my devotion to protect a friend and bravery to face an unknown territory I have never been in, but that I also must realize my actions were reckless as I was in an abandoned warehouse out in the middle of no where which could be a place where crimes are most likely to happen."_

" _You told me I was outnumbered with Sawatari and his gang and that while you admire my confidence of taking on anything you have to realize there are times where doing that can be idealistic._ _ **One against outnumbered troops is unrealistic for anyone. In a situation like that, help is needed. It's the smartest choice."**_

" _When Masumi was handling possible perpetrators of Marco's disappearance, she smartly called for help. Also, LDS is a school training students to be like police so she most likely had trainings for matters like this. I however...didn't have training for crimes which is..dangerous for me to blindly charge into a place with them or most likely for them."_

" _You're always telling me to be careful of the XYZ user as well for how you have heard the XYZ user is attacking Fusion users."_

" _You told me selflessly isolating myself to protect friends only creates distance from them. That my selflessness is only about the survival of one which isn't a relationship built off of equality since both sides are supported in a relationship of equals not just one. You help me, and I help you, and it's as simple as that were your exact words."_

" _What you said about equals of support that day left me thinking of how it greatly differed from a world where I was either seen as too highly strong or a low burden never a right equal, but you..you were the first to say so."_

" _When you were worried over how I kept overworking myself saying I could handle anything, I didn't understand your worry either._ _ **I didn't understand why you cared about me, when no one ever worried about me seeing me as strong to handle anything."**_

" _ **I need to make you happy, I thought, even if I myself am struggling, but..you were always concerned."**_

" _ **Worried about me to ask me about the XYZ user compared to everyone else, striving to get an answer out of me. Worried about me spacing out enough to still stick with me to get me to stop spacing out and being patient to teach it to me even though I was..only a nuisance."**_

" _ **Worried about when I said I missed watching Yuya's duels during lessons to try to finish your duels as quick as possible. Worried about me to stop telling me to overwork myself. Even if I collapsed in fatigue, you would carry me on your back to my home. All I could ask is why do you care so much?"**_

" _ **I didn't know but I did like the level of concern you showed me."**_

" _ **And each time you did, I felt my heart begin to pound and words become hard to find. I didn't know what I was feeling. I just knew that it was something new."**_

" _I always told you people don't help because one is burden but because they see the worth of one wanting to support that worth."_

" _I guess I forgot that, but you reminded me that. When I asked why you were doing all of this when I seemed like a nuisance you only answered,_ " _ **You're worth the trouble."**_

" _ **I was worth it even if I caused you trouble?"**_

" _ **How could you be like that? Helping those even if they were troubling you?"**_

" _ **Of course you answered, "I guess I care too much about them."**_

" _ **You made me feel happy."**_

" _Before I struggled with feeling saddened by the lack of my childhood. Still believing of the principle of what isn't to be in existence, I thought of how my adoptive Dad wasn't planning to have me and wasn't even supposed to be my father if what determines that is biologically speaking."_

" _ **But..then I realized family isn't defined by blood. Anyone can have blood like I do, and not be related to me biologically. Family is defined by the ones who love and cherish you."**_

" _ **So I shouldn't for have one moment called the man who cares so much about me to take care of me not my father biologically speaking. He's my family and nothing will change that."**_

" _ **I was trying to do that just because I thought if he wasn't my father, he wouldn't be financially struggling having an extra child he didn't plan to have to care for, but..I was wrong to do that."**_

" _ **No one should ever be saddened to have a parent that cares for them and is trying their best to raise them, even if it means they will struggle because..that's a parent's job, and if they discard you a burden they shouldn't have when you feel that way never encouraging you that you're not and worth the trouble they're not parents."**_

" _ **Parents care about their child, because their children are the most precious gift in the world to be ever thrown away."**_

" _ **So what if my childhood didn't turn out in a happy way it's usually expected to?"**_

" _ **So what if my childhood didn't appeal to what most kids have?"**_

" _ **Even if it defied the common standards of having a parent biologically and knowing a mother that would raise you instead of dying before your birth like mine did, it's what made me who I am today."**_

" _ **I learned what family was. I used to be so afraid of growing up because I kept thinking I never got to have a normal childhood."**_

" _ **Also I was thinking of how when kids grow up they can hear their mother that's alive tell them you have grown well, congratulating them."**_

" _ **I kept acing tournaments I came into winning first place thinking of it as a high honor that would make my mother proud. She would only say, "Well done."**_

" _ **But..when I realized that my mother wasn't going to be in future saying that all the work I had done to make her proud that I was growing up made me actually sad."**_

" _ **Despite starting to become afraid of growing up, I wanted to be told I had grown well."**_

" _ **I guess that's why I liked the idea of caterpillars growing into butterflies. Like you said, it represents being unafraid and glad of the beautiful transition of from childhood to adulthood."**_

" _ **You saying I have grown tremendously made me happy."**_

" _ **I know that you said you forced a smile and acted like a child because you never got to have a childhood or at least..not a normal one, but..like you have helped me be unafraid of growing up, I want to do the same for you. It's hard to tell a Master they have grown tremendously when they're only focused on their student's progress but that's what I want to do for you."**_

" _ **When I told you of my mother's death, you didn't think of me as an abnormal child who didn't have what most kids had. You didn't approach me with fear on how to handle me when I didn't have what classified as a normal childhood for other kids. You wrapped your arms around me, comforting me, and telling me my mother would be proud of me."**_

" _ **I was beginning to doubt something like that but you reassured me."**_

" _ **I was beginning to think I would never get comfort for not being a normal child, but you reassured me."**_

" _ **I didn't even think that talking about my mother's death in my childhood could even be talked about without me feeling ashamed but you convinced me that it was fine to express my sorrow about it."**_

" _ **I don't know what childhood you had but I want you to know that I'm happy with the person you turned out to be today."**_

" _ **I am most grateful for you telling me that I've earned what I deserved. So many times my hard work was always brushed aside as just something that would be easy to me because I'm strong even if it was hard. They would make it seem like less of an achievement if it came so natural to me. You didn't though. You genuinely congratulated me, seeing it as a grand victory, and even acknowledged it was hard to win which was why it was rewarding for those who had the strength to fight when it was hard not when it was easy."**_

" _ **For everything you have done for me, let me return the favor of thanking you for sticking with me and supporting me as my Master!"**_

" _ **I want..to hear about your childhood as well, but only when you're ready."**_

" _ **After all you were kind enough to listen to mine even if it was something hard to talk about and made me feel bad. You seem like..you want comfort to me for yours as well. I'm always here for you if that's the case. I'll listen even if it's sorrowful because you deserve it."**_

 _Sora smiled, wrapping his arms tightly around her back before saying, "Thank you, Yuzu. That means a lot to me."_

" _ **I'll always give you credit for what you so rightly deserve."**_

 _ **His grip around her back got tighter as he pulled her closer to her chest saying, "I will tell you of my childhood when I'm ready, Yuzu."**_

" _ **It's funny," Sora thought. "I never thought we had so much in common, but both of us struggled with our childhoods and the idea of growing up."**_

" _ **I never thought of you as someone who considered herself to be like a caterpillar who was growing into a butterfly. I always thought of you as a flower in the fairy tale, but I guess you're both it and the caterpillar turning into a butterfly."**_

 _The two had shared in the warmth of light comfort making them both feel at peace and in a bliss sense of happiness they wished to last. It felt like home being held in eachother's arms._

Sora chuckled upon the memory as Yuzu laid fast asleep in her bed. He couldn't teach her Fusion Summoning if she was asleep but he could show his gratitude for all she had done for him. He had actually been planning to give her a gift today.

Digging through his pocket he pulled out a box of strawberry pocky and placed it on top of the wooden circular drawer next to her bed, feeling the memory of when she had given him chocolate pocky with that big wide smile of hers pop into his mind.

He felt like it was a too small act of gratitude, but Yuzu would probably make a big deal out of it.

Still as he thought of how she struggles with her mother's death and not heeding his requests to overwork himself leaving him although he would stubbornly try to deny it worried about her well condition, he felt his fist tighten in both frustration and sadness at all of this added on to the fact that he had no choice but to leave Miami City blaming himself as not easing her worries even if that's all he wanted to.

 **He didn't feel like he was doing enough.**

Putting a simple note next to the box of strawberry pocky saying, "You fell asleep before we could do Fusion lessons but I have been meaning to congratulate you so..I left this as a gift for all of your hard work! Let's do our best in the Miami Championship! Also...I'll be resting on the living room couch for a Fusion lesson in the morning to make up for this missed opportunity," wasn't enough.

 **Simple gestures of kindness are not enough to avert a swarm of soldiers coming to one's dimension. No one will be swayed by kindness because..war causes a loss of empathy. He couldn't have friendships as it could cause the ones he cherished to be hurt in war. Innocent lives and the memories of something as simple as taking gratitude in spending time with Yuzu and Yuya such as avoiding Yuzu's fan when she was mad at both Yuya and him, Yuzu and him cheering for Yuya's entertainment dueling, pranking Yuya like dyeing his hair a different color or handing him candies he would soon find to be spicy leaving Yuzu to be laughing while he had a sour face, and teaching Yuzu Fusion Summoning would soon be no more because that's something that isn't to be possessed according to war. Innocence whether it's in the justice people should have, how they're alive unaware of oppression undeserving of death to be the only good not corrupted and living doing everyday things that should come natural to them like going to school or having jobs or raising families along with making friendships, or in a childhood is no more due to war. He was silly to think he could of had something...that felt normal in his life as opposed to the chaos of war in reference to his friendly associations with Yuzu and Yuya. Life is always more complicated than the simplicity of happiness wished to be held.**

Yuzu remained resting while all that was in Sora's mind was chaos.

She had soon frowned before saying, "That being said you have to stop sending Yuya after me during Fusion lessons to ask me when I'll come back to You Show Duel School, Dad. I can't be around you all the time. I promise I'll still make time for you, Dad, but asking for me to be by you all the time is just being a clingy doting father. You gotta set me free to have some space and make some choices of my own. Sending Yuya to make me come back to You Show Duel School makes me feel like you're forcing me to return. **It doesn't help that Yuya is getting tired of it telling me to come back to You Show Duel School already so he won't have to keep doing this."**

 **Sora scowled at her last line.**

 **It just seemed so..forceful and without regards to her choice just like when he had taken her Fusion card without permission.**

He had been worried that he couldn't evolve Pendulum Summoning, even saying that he found it amazing how everyone was being productive, doing something.

Yuzu was learning Fusion Summoning and Gongenzaka was learning Synchro Summoning.

Just like Yuzu was evolving in her dueling, he wanted to do the same.

He found himself even complaining to Sora about how he was left wondering why she had rejected having practice matches with him but was fine having them with Sora.

He needed her help and he missed her presence.

Sora taking this into account decided it would be best if he ended his qualification match as quickly as possible so she could watch his duel which made both her and him happy as Yuzu had been wanting to see Yuya duel for the longest time, and Yuya had been simply wanting her supportive presence.

Sora blames himself for not telling Yuya he would do that as he thinks maybe Yuya wouldn't have kept Yuzu's Fusion card if he did. Maybe he thought if Yuzu wasn't going to be with him, he would get help from her in the form of her Fusion card, being inspired by how she was evolving with it, but it still wasn't right.

Did he think Yuzu wouldn't have helped him if he had just admitted he was struggling with Pendulum Summoning and evolving it? Did he think that because she didn't help him practice? Yuzu was kind always wanting to assist others so Sora was sure she would of helped Yuya had he just admitted he was struggling with Pendulum Summoning teaching him Fusion Summoning if he so wished to have it in collection with evolving his dueling.

However then again..maybe she would think he was once again just thinking two techniques would prove his worth instead of his personality, not helping him.

Even so, Sora still found himself mad for his actions towards her, even addressing him about it.

" **Taking her Fusion card without permission was a low blow, Yuya," Sora stated angrily.**

" **I apologized and she forgave me. Why are you bringing this up?," Yuya replied nonchalantly.**

" **She apologized because she's far too kind, and I'm bringing it up because you had no idea how worried you made her," Sora explained.**

" **She was spending her whole time thinking she lost what could of protect You Show Duel School while you were having a grand time," Sora thought, clenching his fist.**

" **You could of returned her card before your own duel yet you didn't," Sora noted.**

" **Did you think you could just use it for awhile and Yuzu would be fine with it? That she would just kindly forgive you even if you took it without permission?"**

" **...Don't take advantage of her kindness."**

" **You're always calling her a crude strong woman and not appreciating her help when you should."**

" **I promised her I would find what lied beyond Pendulum Summoning with my own hands showing her that I would take worth in myself not being overly reliant on her and Gongenzaka," Yuya calmly began.**

" **..If I finally was able to call her a great help to me and even show it with her card, why are you calling me out on that?"**

" **Because you're showing she's a great help to her all without her knowledge and struggling with evolving Pendulum Summoning, not requesting help even though Yuzu, Gongenzaka, and I would be more than willing to help, without our knowledge!," Sora shouted.**

" **Why are you acting like getting help from friends suddenly makes you worthless? Is that why you always reject Yuzu's help? People don't help you because you're a worthless! They help you because they see your worth and want to support the worth of all you are! Had you been worthless they wouldn't even have bothered to help you!"**

" **Do you think we like seeing you struggle all alone!? Do you think we like having to worry about what's going on inside your head when you won't let anyone inside by rejecting our help!?"**

" **Had Yuzu and I not arrived it wouldn't be shown to Yuzu that you even consider her a great help."**

" **Are you trying to say she's a help to you so long as she doesn't realize it and so long as you don't have to show that to her?"**

" **Why can't you just be honest about how much you appreciate her and let her in on your real feelings!?"**

 **He wasn't talking about Yuya's romantic feelings but rather his feelings of sorrow that he hid instead of actively talking about, worrying Yuzu and Sora.**

" **You not accepting help may be because you just don't want to worry us but it's not a bad thing for a friend to be worried about another friend. You're just like Yuzu in that aspect. Sometimes her selflessness is leaving her bottling up pessimistic feelings as to not worry anyone."**

" **Well..I would like to say you're just like Yuzu but this is something different from Yuzu."**

" **This is all about pride. You feel incapable inside and worthless, feeling a need to prove yourself, so you bottle up your harsh feelings."**

" **I keep trying to think that you are kind, but the way you wanted to hoard Pendulum Summoning to yourself instead of having it mass produced even it would help other's dueling as it was what made you special and different from others not wanting that sense of worth taken away with it not being common to have was just..selfish and prideful!"**

" **I know..you're not purposefully trying to do this."**

" **I know you're kind."**

" **I can tell from the way you kept telling me to not insult my opponents and don't approach people with judgement, being trusting of them. That's because you were sick of how people did that to you, judging you as a coward of your father, mistrusting you. You also didn't like how people only approached you as Yusho's son never seeing yourself, always just getting close to you for autographs and tickets to his shows, not because they liked your personality."**

" **You're both jealous of your father and admiring him. He was happily confident and social with others while you were pessimistic and withdrawn with others. Yet your father loved you, encouraging you to be yourself, even if you disliked yourself, and you loved him in return. So much that you wanted to be just like him, and yet..you always couldn't help but regret that you didn't have the qualities he had when people only approached you for him."**

" **You began to think their daily approach was because people are selfish, and as a result began to exhibit such a quality as revenge. If no one was going to be close to you back then, seeing you with worth, you might as well keep them at a distance, not seeing them with worth to share Pendulum Summoning."**

" **You're not a naturally selfish person. If you're selfish, it's because that's how you have been treated."**

" **Deep down, you want to be kind."**

" **Even so..even so, what's your compliment to Yuzu suppose to mean if you don't show it in your actions!?**

" **Do you even know how hurt you made her feel when you called her ridiculous when she was trying to talk to you about the man that looked like you and how her bracelet kept glowing!?"**

" **You could of been more sympathetic! Do you even know how worried she has been about the XYZ user!? Do you know how harmed she felt when you called her a crude strong woman!? On top of all of this what you choose to do is borrow her card without permission! You don't consider her feelings!"**

" **Even if you tell me that you were planning to hurry up and give her Fusion card back to her claiming you were considering her feelings, you went back to think of how you could entertain an audience when you could of been delivering her card back to her. You can't use the excuse that you were going to be late to your duel with Mieru that day when you woke up at an early enough time to give Yuzu her card back. You chose to think about yourself and oversleep as a result, becoming late to your duel with Mieru, and also not caring enough to give Yuzu her card back if all you had been thinking was of yourself selfishly."**

" **Don't try to gloss over all of your actions with some compliment to her every once in awhile and actually show that more often! Your apology sickened me because it felt like you were trying to butter her up so that she would be ok with your actions in the past and especially right in that moment of doing so much without considering her feelings and without even giving thought to her choice when she should be anything but fine with that! It didn't help that right after you apologized you went on to talk about what a benefit it was to yourself just seeming..selfish yet again when Yuzu was worried sick and unlike you not having the benefit of the whole situation."**

" **But you know how Yuzu is. So long as another is helped, it's fine."**

" **Selfless as always. Don't..disrespect that quality of hers, seeing it as a means to use her."**

" **Even if Yuzu was sad, you knew that so long as you were helped, she would be happy, and that worked out for you because all you were caring about that moment was your own self! Why don't you help her in return like she's done for you? You always go on about how Yuzu is invincible and if she is worried about something, she could handle it because she's strong. I want to think high of your admiration but this is just carelessness to not identify her struggles, and also..not respect of her selflessness."**

" **You don't understand her kind selflessness."**

" **Maybe that's because of the cruelty you have been dealt with from others neglecting you as a coward or maybe that's because you don't think you're deserving of it."**

" **Maybe that's because you think she's naive because you were once like her only to be used for others getting close to your father and with Sawatari, for getting close with Pendulum Summoning, believing that she should learn people who are kind are only used and taken advantage of."**

" **Maybe it's all of this, but the point is that I came to you because I don't want you to take advantage of her all because you lack the respect for the kind selfless person she is."**

 **When he was done spouting all of this to Yuya, Yuya was surprised.**

 **Sora really was such a worried..friend.**

 **Then again, he did consider him kind and full of worth, only wishing to be of help to him.**

 **Not only that but Yuzu as well.**

" **...I recognize her selflessness too, you know?," Yuya responded.**

" **Sometimes I even tell her she should be worried more about her own self."**

" **If she was trapped, she would still be concerned about others."**

" **How can I help someone else dear to me is all she would think."**

" **During Sawatari's duel, all she thought of was if I was fine and desperately tried to hold on to the children's lives."**

" **Out in that warehouse where she was outnumbered by Sawatari and his gang all she thought of was me."**

" **Both you and I admire her devotion to friends but we know she doesn't consider her own self. We both know how reckless her actions were. Who knows what could of happened in a warehouse out in the middle of nowhere? It's idealistic for anyone to go up against enemies they're outnumbered against but if there was an army of soldiers coming out of Yuzu, she would fight. I will give her points for resilience, and not being an oppressed hostage."**

" **...That's what I admire about Yuzu and you," Sora stated, smiling now.**

" **When you were being hunted by Sawatari, you two still fought to stay alive."**

" **Hostages should always do that."**

 **Yet his smile turned to a sad one as he said, "I wouldn't understand that since I'm bound to where I come from. People are always owned from where they come from, aren't they?"**

" **Just like children are owned by the parents they come by. Just like properties are owned by the ones who made them."**

" **It's all without a choice of whether they wanted to born into this."**

" **People don't have a choice of what they're born into because if they dare question it, where would they end up? Simply in the arms of another."**

" **If children question if they're parents are really their parents, they're just given to others, aren't they? If properties question why they have to be where they're from, they're just shipped to another, aren't they?"**

" **They're all held captive by anyone and forced to stay like that the rest of their life."**

" **That's not how everyone treats people, Sora!," Yuya protested.**

" **There's a chance that the one who felt captive was taken in by someone who loved them and wanted to take care of them."**

" **The reason they stayed wasn't because they felt captive by someone but because they willingly wanted to stay beside the one who treated them right."**

" **Maybe properties don't have that choice, but children do. I guess what I should say is that humans have the right. Humans have the right to move freely, making their own choices."**

 **Sora only snickered at that.**

" **Children can't choose who their parents will be. Trying to argue that..," Sora began only for Yuya to interrupt him with, "Parents can't choose who their children will be either", which made Sora pause.**

" **When it comes to life it becomes clearly evident that choices aren't governed by the hands of another but one's own right to individuality and their personal choices."**

" **..What would I know about that?," Sora thought, which concerned Yuya greatly.**

 **Sora then shook his head to clear his thoughts before saying, "A valid point to take under consideration. I'm most thankful for your concern about me. At this moment though, I'm only concerned about Yuzu and you at this moment."**

" **Yuzu can't understand that she should be helped and neither can you."**

" **You're both going to trouble me at this rate."**

" **Yuzu is like..a hero in fairy tales. They help others and save them, but they never get helped back, even though I'm sure they want support from others."**

" **Yuzu always told me she was happy when we considered eachother as equals of learning, in our bond of master and student."**

" **I think that's because she didn't want to be like a hero, considered so high that she couldn't get help. She wanted to be an equal that way both her and the ones she cherished were help."**

" **It's strange but I remember Yuzu once said I was just like heroes in fairy tales too. I came out of nowhere, helping others, despite my identity being unknown, leaving them to wonder about who I was really. That's how she interpreted me when I helped you guys from being attacked by Sawatari."**

" **It's..kind of amusing considering I always wanted to be just like the heroes in fairy tales."**

" **I think of you like a hero too. You entertain others, saving their lives with happiness, but you don't exactly allow yourself to be helped back."**

" **It's alright to get help."**

" **I just want you to know..I'm here for you."**

" **...I don't understand why," Yuya stated.**

" **Why are you and her just..selfless like that?"**

" **Truth was..I was very jealous of how much time you spent with Yuzu."**

" **Her making an exception to have practice matches with you unlike me and her talking about how you have amazing trust in her strength even after your flaws with such a fond smile just left me jealous."**

" **I trust you too was all I argued to her. I don't doubt her strength either. I even argued that you have always been harsh towards her, doubting her, like when I believed along with Gongenzaka, Tatsuya, Ayu, and Futoshi that she could win against Masumi, you stated she wouldn't make that blow."**

" **Even so, she commended you for knowing when her eyes were saying she was gonna lose because that's how she felt inside. She commended you for knowing how she felt inside, when she was at her limits, and when she shouldn't bite off more than she can chew, preventing her from overworking herself.**

" **I was confused but she only stated how happy she was that you could understand when there were times she felt like giving up and was pushing herself past her limit, but still always told her she was humane for having her limitations, and that she should just rest before trying again, still believing in her perseverance."**

" **Then she stated while Masumi may not have been supportive of her in her whole duel with her, it was because she wanted a stronger opponent and she couldn't hate her for wanting that. She also told me while you were like her as well you did apologize for beginning to think like Masumi in where the hesitant should be bad mouthed as weak even though they're strong in trying. She wouldn't think ill of you at all but rather that you were a grand supporter in her life."**

" **You have told me of your romantic feelings with Yuzu and how you don't want it to get in the way of our bond however...I wasn't as selfless as you were. I was jealous, trying to think of ways I was better than you to romantically suit her. It was disgusting really. Thinking of matters in the way of a competition."**

" **Who was better was all that was in my mind. I was..forceful."**

" **You have told me before that me taking her Fusion card without permission was forceful, that me pestering her to come back to You Show Duel School was forceful, and that my dueling while meaning well could be forceful, not respectful to another's feelings."**

" **You said it was idealistic in trying to force a smile in a sad situation when what should be done was expressing how you really feel to recover, not hiding behind a mask. Yet..I was close-minded, refusing to see the oppression in it, and I wouldn't accept anyone's perspective that dueling didn't revolve around my principle of forcing a smile."**

" **You told me that my ability to refuse to listen to sadness when it needed to be empathetically listened to instead of hiding from it not confronting it would make me too close-minded to be perceived as empathetic. If I couldn't understand the oppression one felt because of how I tried to gloss over matters with sugar-coating everything as not bad and that it couldn't be simply solved by forcing a smile instead of showing a real one, how could it be close with others, getting through to them?"**

" **I yelled at you, saying you were wrong, even irritated of your perspective only to see your point of my closed-mindedness which frustrated me even further."**

" **You called me forceful when I kept asking you about your home and your parents because that was an uncomfortable subject to you as I couldn't accept not knowing anything. When I don't know anything, I feel incapable, leading me to tend to force answers out instead of waiting patiently for them."**

" **If I just patiently listened to the answers of how I really feel inside to solve my problems instead of ignoring my true emotions not solving anything, maybe nothing I do would feel strained and unnatural."**

" **I'm sorry for seeming so forceful unlike Yuzu who patiently waits for you to talk about your home and your parents."**

" **It was then that everything you said about her worries..and her not talking to me about them...made me wonder if it was because I was forceful, not attentive to another's feelings."**

" **I couldn't see you as someone uncomfortable from my daily asking and when I was comparing myself to you and what made me better for Yuzu romantically all I was thinking was that I didn't want her to question that, doubting that. I wanted to be the only option for her."**

" **I know Yuzu loves me romantically but after losing my father who was close to me, I have this fear of growing attached to someone only to lose them. So..when I deny being romantically interested in Yuzu, she plays along with my denial even though she's hurt that I can't seriously pursue a relationship, because she thinks the reason I'm scared is because I'm interested in her romantically which sparks my fear of losing someone close so if she acts like she isn't, I won't feel uncomfortable. She means well and is kindly loyal to me, even if this is hurting her. I wanted her to stay loyal to me. To still love me. To not leave me, even though I wasn't deserving of it."**

" **That's just it. I'm..a selfish person. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes not on purpose, but I definitely don't get why I have friends like Yuzu and you still wanting to support me."**

" **I don't get it but I'm not in any way not grateful for it."**

" **I recognize Yuzu's selflessness, ok!?"**

" **Don't act like I don't!"**

" **I recognize it so much to the point where I begin to ask, "Why?"**

" **In my past with my experiences of being used to approach my father my selflessness and kindness was taken advantage of and I learned that in the world that it's just a quality susceptible to weakness of being easily manipulated."**

" **So why does she think of selflessness as such a good quality? She should be warned."**

" **...I want kindness and not selfishness, but life hasn't exactly given me that."**

" **It never told me that having qualities as right as that means you're treated the way you deserve to be."**

" **That's why I'm selfish, keeping Pendulum Summoning to myself, and in the actions you have been describing above. That's why I switch to times of revenge thinking of it as justice for when I wasn't treated right. I think this is the only correct way to survive in the world."**

" **But..Yuzu isn't like that. She's kind, selfless, and merciful never selfish."**

" **Possessing noble qualities that are admirable and to be respected, even when she isn't treated the way she's deserves to be treated."**

" **I have always asked her why she acts like that. When sometimes people badmouth her as a duelist she never insults them back. I have even told her that she isn't being respected for her good qualities so why does she still cling to them as being good?"**

" **I use to be angry for how she acted, thinking she was too naive allowing herself to be so close in harm's way. Do you know what she said to me?"**

" **She told me being right isn't easy especially when qualities so noble are disrespected, but she doesn't see why she needs to stop being so."**

" **To her, even if being right is hard, the hardest things in life are usually worth the effort. I always remember what she said right after that. We were in a flower field that she always loved to visit and the two of us usually ate lunch there. She told me while looking at the flowers, if flowers even if being pushed down to the dirt treated wrongly hadn't learned to still stand rightly in their soft kindness when everyone around them told them to give up their sense of what is right, we wouldn't have learned that hard effort produces the most beautiful reward of a character that's developed a will that can never submit to unjust treatment."**

" **Yuzu has the ability to not give up in the rough and still possess the softness of kindness. She's really quite admirable in that sense. She only says rough bumps in a ride are what make you jump up, and it would be boring along with less of an adventure if it didn't have challenges before gaining the treasure."**

" **She went on to further tell me that being right is like solving an equation. It's hard to get to the right answer but in the end, everything balances out once you do. If you had given up on having the right answer, you wouldn't have found balance, would you?"**

" **Of course that previous comment was just stated to make me try harder on math for when I had a duel with a trivia duelist but..the moral it has still struck a chord with me."**

" **I can't really wrap my head around Yuzu, but..all I know is I admire her ability to never be cruel and always have respect."**

" **To be able to survive cruelty due to her kindness and to never submit to what is unjust."**

" **To do the right thing even when its hard and having enough hopeful perseverance to believe the right thing is always worth the effort just because she sees worth in both herself and others."**

" **To like a flower, not be afraid to show her colors of worth and pass on colors of worth in respect for another."**

" **I'm not like Yuzu. I have my streaks of selfishness, and even times where I don't comprehend her selflessness, or am even jealously angry of her strong hearted nature."**

" **Then there are times where I can't deny I appreciate her selflessness so much to the point where I wonder if I'm even deserving of it for all of my actions towards her and for my negative feelings of jealousy and anger I had towards her."**

" **Then I'm back to thinking how I'm even supposed to understand why she would kindly stay beside me and why she would never lash out at me when I am harshly insulting her as a crude strong woman or harshly rejecting her help. Why is she always kind when someone hasn't been so to her back? I don't understand the selflessness in her mind even if I'm trying to understand it, but..I know it's there, and I know..several times, I'm just struggling to tell her thank you in the midst of my own selfishness."**

" **You can say I don't understand her selflessness, but you can't say I don't respect it when I do. I respect it so much that I believe she's too good for me or for even the world. Have you ever felt that around someone? That they were too good to be true?"**

" **The kids even teased me about not thanking her when I was only praising Gongenzaka for helping me practice for Miami Championship saying the same things about me not respecting her like you did, but..I do. More than anything, I want to tell her that without struggling to convey that, but I can't because..she's indescribably amazing."**

" **That's how I feel..about Yuzu."**

" **I would never in any way want her taken advantage of or take advantage of her."**

" **It wasn't my intention to come off like that."**

 **It was silent for a few moments due to Yuya's heartfelt confessions until Sora said, "Well...that's a relief," heaving out a large sigh of relief, gently smiling at him now.**

" **I realize you have always had a hard time expressing your real feelings to Yuzu but..I wanted to make sure there was no distance between the two of you strengthened by the wrong actions. You two should be getting along after all."**

" **If there's ever a problem, we should work it out."**

 **Yuya stared deeply at Sora gently smiling at him thinking of how he was treating Yuzu could of been a perfect opportunity to convince Yuzu of how he was the better choice for her romantic feelings by insulting all of these clear mistakes of his but..he didn't.**

 **He valued not only Yuzu's happiness in her romantic interest in him but also Yuya's happiness in trying to convey his romantic feelings to her.**

 **Even more...instead of leaving a relationship when flaws were shown and mistakes were clearly made he was staying loyally there.**

 **Yuzu's words of "He has amazing trust in me despite all of my flaws being shown" were starting to sink in.**

 **He was…**

" **You're exceptionally loyal," Yuya stated, which confused Sora.**

" **How so?," Sora inquired, not even realizing the good qualities inside of himself.**

" **What you did right now..," Yuya began.**

" **Offering help when I was struggling with Pendulum Summoning. Helping me convey my feelings to Yuzu more properly. You could of left me dismissing me as a lost cause for all of my flaws being shown and yet..you decided to loyally stay and help me with them."**

" **I know why Yuzu learns Fusion Summoning from you now and why she even practices with you. When she offers you ways to improve your dueling, you're not even ashamed of your flaws being shown, grateful to her help. You don't view help as a matter of being ashamed of one's self."**

" **Unlike me," Yuya thought thinking of the many times he rejected her help from trying to help him stand after practice matches.**

" **You're just like Yuzu," Yuya stated. "You don't help because you see yourself and others as burden but because you can see the worth of yourself and others."**

" **You don't view her as burden for requesting help."**

" **You could of told Yuzu to leave me because I was a lost cause but you didn't."**

" **When relationships get hard, you offer to work out struggles instead of abandoning someone. That's why..I called you exceptionally loyal to both me and you."**

" **..I..learned it from Yuzu and you," Sora stated, smiling now.**

" **You both always remained kind to me even if I was bitter. That's why...I try not to come off as someone who is bumming off of you. I..appreciate your hospitality."**

" **Thank you Yuya."**

" **Both Yuzu and you are my very first friends."**

 **Yuya smiled saying, "I should be the one thanking you, Sora, but..I'll just settle this here and now with a mere what are friends for?"**

 **A serene silence passes the fellow Fusion user and the Pendulum user before the serenity is broken by a depression that has been building up inside the Fusion user for the longest time.**

" **...It's about time for me to leave..," Sora stated, not just referring to time to get home, but..leaving Miami City.**

" **Do your best for the Miami Championship. After all, you are the teacher that taught me how to be a good friend. I have nothing to do but like a student support the teacher I look up to learning more entertaining ways of dueling from."**

 **Sora turned his back before hearing Yuya call, "Wait!," turning around to hear what else he had to say.**

 **Yuya smiled saying, "You can stay over at my house, sleeping there for the night. You're always free and welcome too. You don't have to stay at a hotel room, wasting your money."**

" **..I..would like that," Sora answered.**

" **I might as well enjoy the last night I can spend at your house with you and your mother," Sora thought, feeling sadness he had been trying to get rid of today deep inside him again.**

" **Then let's go! I'll lead the way!," Yuya happily shouted, oblivously unaware to the harm that would soon befall his dimension and a wave of tense events he would soon be forced in for he wasn't just going to have a simplistic tournament.**

 **The day Sora had a Fusion lesson with Yuzu in the morning left him wondering if like her he could stop reverting into the fact that he didn't have a normal childhood and actually look to the future with happiness instead of apprehension. Maybe in the future, he would hear if she found out what her feelings romantically speaking were for him. He is anxious to know if she does love him or if she loves Yuya when he wishes he couldn't be.**

 **When it came to understanding whether her romantic feelings were for Sora or Yuya, she was smiling during that day as she was sure that just like the morning sun rises up illuminating the unknown and hidden from sight answers to be known she would find the truth of who her feelings really were for while Sora couldn't help but be frowning as the morning sun rose up that day seeing it as a truth that if he got too close to, he would burn only reflecting how he really felt about the possibility of Yuzu not really being romantically interested in him all before the Miami Championship.**

Author Note: You have finally reached the end of this chapter! Also if anyone is curious the fairy tale, Town Musician of Bremen, is a real fairy tale. However the other ones mentioned in this fairy tale were ones I fabricated by myself. So much developed this chapter. I think the main priority is establishing how greatly Academia affects Sora's mind. The part about his memory causing severe trauma will be further investigated in later chapters/ even possibly one shots. Anyway, this chapter brought up why I love Musicboxshipping. Sora is the only one Yuzu talked about the XYZ user with and Sora is the only one who shared Fusion with her. They're comfortable around eachother accepting eachother. This is why while Fruitshipping is a beautiful ship as I have portrayed in how they respect eachother I couldn't ship it primarily because I viewed it as platonic and also because Yuzu didn't seem to share her worries with Yuya. **Yuya trusted her during her hesitation with the showdown with LDS, but he didn't address why she was hesitating by inquiring her deeper upon the reasoning for why so. The same went for the moment Yuzu first asked Sora to teach her Fusion Summoning, she spaced out upon the XYZ user arrival, and Yuya went on to talk about qualifying for his matches even though Yuzu was clearly worried about something and he should of asked what was wrong. The episode where Sora said, "Be careful or someone will steal Yuzu from you," was in response to how if you notice before Yuya flat out called Yuzu ridiculous for her explanation about her bracelet glowing making an XYZ user disappear, which secretly meant, "Be careful of how you treat Yuzu or you might lose her." All of this along with his comment of her being a crude strong woman made me not perceive Yuya and Yuzu romantically close.** Musicboxshipping has **subtle** development but it speaks volumes. Yuzu trusting Sora to reveal worries she doesn't with others, Sora dropping his guard to share Fusion even if he would get in trouble, Sora and Yuzu spending an awfully long time together according to Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya with how they stated that she has been gone a long time away from You Show Duel School, Sora wanting Yuzu to watch him, and the list could go on but this is what I love about Musicboxshipping. This is why I love Musicboxshipping. Whether you do or not simply viewing my work for whatever reason, I hope that you are enjoying reading this fanfic as I am enjoying writing it. ^_^


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